Choice Hotels Europe, Choice Hotels International's European arm, has signed a multi-unit development agreement with GVK Enterprises, a hospitality management and development firm, to introduce and establish a hotel portfolio in Greece.
Choice expects the first property under the agreement to open by the summer of 2017 under a Comfort flag in Athens. After that, four additional properties will open on the Greek mainland and islands under the Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands.
“We are thrilled to be expanding our European portfolio to Greece, an important travel and tourism destination that has shown signs of strong recovery and positive forecasts,” Mark Pearce, senior vice president, international division, for Choice Hotels, said in a statement. “We have every confidence that our brands will thrive in such a dynamic market.”
This agreement follows several other EMEA market portfolio expansions that Choice has announced in 2016. In April, the company announced it had signed an agreement to deliver approximately 25 hotels and 8,000 rooms in UAE and Saudi Arabia by 2021. Other deals signed include establishing multiple hotels in Belgium and the co-branding of 19 properties in Germany, Austria and Hungary under the Comfort and Quality brands. In April, the company added a third hotel to its Christchurch, NZ portfolio. Choice recently launched its upscale Ascend Hotel Collection brand in the UK and France, with Turkey to follow in 2017.
Choice Hotels Europe franchises nearly 500 hotels across Europe that are either open or under development.