Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

So a lot of that is what we expect to bring to the Radisson side of the house. As Dom mentioned, a lot of that integration is going to occur beginning in Q3, so we’ll expect to see, mostly in 2023, a lot of cost synergies that will take place with the revenue synergies really being realized probably in the latter months of the year this year and then really taking off in 2024. So that’s really where €“ this is a timing issue at this point, but also I think the really just significant prowess that our integration team has developed has really allowed us to move the integration time line, timetable forward as well as identify additional opportunities for cost synergies. And we expect the revenue synergies to really start to show up in the last couple of months of the year and then well into 2024.

Michael Bellisario: Got it. That’s helpful. And then just last one for me on the Circus Circus deal. There’s a ton of rooms there that you just added. For a deal like that, is the royalty fee lower than average? Is the contract length shorter? Any important characteristics for a deal like this that we should be aware of?

Dom Dragisich: So broadly speaking, Mike, we’re not at liberty to give contract specifics for deals like that. What I would tell you is on a kind of a unit basis, those €“ the expectation is that those royalties will be significantly higher than the royalty of our existing hotel. Obviously, there’s multiple components of that in terms of the distribution and whatnot, but we’re not at liberty to talk about individual contracts in terms of the effective royalty rate.

Michael Bellisario: Thank you. That’s all for me.

Pat Pacious: Thanks.

Operator: Your next question comes from Robin Farley with UBS. Please go ahead.

Robin Farley: I have two topics. One, going back to your comment about the economy units kind of staying stable, is that more due to removal rate not being as much as what we’ve seen in the last couple of years? Or is it still that removal rate by just being offset by new units? And then also, just looking at the economy units, removals from your system, are they generally going to conversion brands from competitors? I know there are a couple of companies out there looking at or launching economy and midscale brands. And so just kind of wondering where your removals are going? Thanks.

Pat Pacious: Yes, Robin, so I’ll talk about kind of where these hotels when they leave our system go. For the most part, they go independent. They sort of get to a place where I mean, these may be owners that have a 40-year-old hotel where the asset is €“ the mortgage is paid off, they’re just cash flow in the asset, and they don’t care if they operate at a 70% RevPAR index. So what they’re looking at is, are the fees associated with being part of a larger system worth it for them. And so when they choose not to do that, they generally go independent. There’s also been a trend which we talked about on prior calls that some of these hotels are going to alternative use. There are specific states in the U.S. that are paying for economy hotels to turn them into housing.

And so that’s also been a trend we’ve seen in the last couple of years. But by and large, these are hotel owners that just don’t want to associate with the brand anymore, given the expected returns they want and ultimately what they’re hoping to do with their asset in the long term.