Choice Hotels held a ribbon-cutting Tuesday for the grand opening of its new North Bethesda headquarters, with many public officials, including Gov. Wes Moore (D), in attendance.
The headquarters, which takes up a little over four floors at 915 Meeting St., will provide a workspace for around 400 employees and is over 108,000 square feet, according to Moe Rama, PR manager for Choice Hotels International.
“This headquarters is going to generate economic growth and economic vitality all across North Bethesda that will be felt all across the state,” Moore said at the event.
The hotel chain’s previous headquarters was located at 1 Choice Hotels Circle at Rockville Metro Plaza, which they moved to in 2013. Previously, the headquarters was based in Silver Spring. The company has been based in Maryland since 1968.
A rooftop conference center with collaborative common areas, a fully equipped fitness center and wellness and relaxation rooms are some of the featured amenities, Rama said.
Patrick Cimerola, chief human resources officer for Choice Hotels International, said that there were a lot of factors that went into moving the space, but one was the welcoming attitude of the Pike & Rose community.
“If people want to eat, connect, go shopping – all of that is offered at Pike & Rose. This offers our associates the ability to be productive in their work and personal life,” Cimerola said in an email statement. “We know that office location is a critical piece of overall wellbeing, and our goal is for our associates to always feel welcomed, wanted and respected when coming to work.”
In October 2021, Choice Hotels announced that it had signed a lease for the space.
Choice Hotels International CEO Pat Pacious thanked the Federal Realty Group, who developed Pike & Rose in 2014, for “their support and joining us today.”
Pacious said that the move to a new headquarters will help the company continue to grow and become more successful.
“We are a story of financial growth,” Pacious said. “We have grown our earnings for the past four years over 40%, and we are also an incredible job creator.”
Choice Hotels’ revenue last year was $1.4 billion, and it is one of the largest hotel chains in the world with around 7,500 hotels, including ones under the Cambria Hotels, Radisson and Quality Inn brands, according to its website.
Also, the company has recently been working to acquire Wyndham Hotels, and the latest bid has a value of $90 per share, about $7.8 billion, and the offer expires on March 8.
Pacious said that the new space will also be an effective tool for recruiting new employees to come to work for the company at the corporate level.
Staying in Maryland was a no-brainer for the company, Pacious said.
“We are committed to the state of Maryland, and we want to thank Maryland for its commitment to Choice Hotels,” Pacious said at the event.
Moore said that the hotel chain’s decision to continue to remain in Maryland is very important.
“You have sent a very clear message to the world that when you’re thinking about where to grow your businesses, you do not need to think any further than the state of Maryland,” Moore said.