Choice Hotels Australasia's President and CEO Brent Russell announced the name change to more than 350 delegates at the group's 43rd annual conference on the Gold Coast.

"Flag Hotels was an institution in Australia for more than 40 years, and we have taken the best of that institution and rolled it into a modern, tightly-managed organisation that is opening new horizons for our franchisees," Mr Russell said.

"A new era has begun in the exciting and limitless area of hospitality franchising." Mr Russell, who took over Flag Choice Hotels after US-based Choice Hotels International acquired 100 per cent of Flag Hotels in early 2003, said traditional Flag customers had already embraced the Choice Hotels Australasia brands Comfort, Quality and Clarion.

"These brands have quickly become synonymous with value, reliability and quality - Comfort at the 3 star value end, Quality in the 4 star middle and Clarion at the 5 star top end.

"Choice Hotels Australasia now includes more than 330 hotels and serviced apartments in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, American Samoa, Singapore and China, and we are growing at the rate of more then 10 per cent a year."

Mr Russell said property owners saw the benefits of becoming part of Australasia's largest hotel franchise operator because it was linked to Choice Hotels International, one of the world's largest franchisors with almost 5000 hotels in 47 countries.
This enables Choice Hotels Australasia to offer an expansive range of benefits including:

• internationally recognised premium brands
• comprehensive domestic and global sales and marketing support
• key sales and marketing partnerships
• an Australian-based reservations centre with state of the art technology and local area specialists
• the Choice Privileges loyalty program
• a listing in more than five million Choice Hotels accommodation directories distributed worldwide
• access via the powerful choicehotels.com.au and choicehotels.com internet reservation booking engine
• a dedicated local Franchise Services Director to assist with business advice
• group purchasing benefits
• a 100% guest satisfaction guarantee program, and 
• an Annual Conference to enable franchisees to update on trends and share ideas.

"So far this year we have signed up an additional 29 new properties with more than 2700 rooms, growth that signifies Choice Hotels International's strong commitment to the Australasian region," Mr Russell said.

Choice Hotels Australasia is part of Choice Hotels International, which franchises some 5000 hotels worldwide including more than 330 in Australia, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, American Samoa, Singapore and China.