Called the Comfort Hotel & Suites - Trianon Park, the hotel has launched a US$1.5 million renovation program to upgrade the property to the standards of a Comfort Hotel & Suites, a hotel brand recognized for offering business-traveler-friendly amenities and services such as ergonomic chairs in the rooms, spacious desks, efficient telecommunications, conveniently located dataports for PC modems and electronic locks. The hotel is located near Trianon Park in Paulista, the commercial and financial center of Sao Paulo.  The area is also known for its numerous trendy restaurants and shops.  Value for the leisure and corporate traveler can be found in guest rooms that range from US$135-$185 and suites from US$195-$210.  All rates include a deluxe breakfast buffet.

�Business travelers tend to take the limited-service hotel concept for granted in the United States and elsewhere in the world because they are used to having a wide range of lodging choices, from limited service to luxury,� said Paul J. Sistare, president and CEO of Choice Atlantica Hotels. �In Latin America, however, lodging has traditionally been limited to expensive full-service independent or chain hotels or somewhat unpredictable smaller hotels. With the introduction of the Comfort Hotel & Suites - Trianon Park into the vibrant Sao Paulo marketplace plus the addition of other Choice hotel products throughout Brazil in the near future, we think that these Choice hotels will soon become the first choice for travelers to Latin America, just as they are at other locations throughout the world.�

Brazil is already one of the hottest emerging markets for international business, added Sistare, and the addition of high-quality mid-priced hotels along with other improvements to the country�s infrastructure such as better phone and power systems will ensure Brazil�s position in the world economy for years to come.

Other Choice properties presently operating in South America include Clarion Hotel Principado, Quality Bonaparte Hotel and Quality El Conquistador, all in Santiago.  A Sleep Inn � the first in South America � will open in Miraflores, an affluent suburb of Lima, Peru in January 1999.  More than 140 Choice hotels are expected to open in South America within the next five years.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) has more than 4,000 hotels, inns, all-suite hotels and resorts open and under development in 34 countries and was recently named the #1 lodging company by Entrepreneur magazine in the publication�s annual Franchise 500 ranking.

A reservations office in Buenos Aires will open during the first quarter of 1999 for travelers and travel professionals calling from the country of Argentina.  All the reservations centers use the �Choice 2001� reservations system which confirms instantly reservations at Choice hotels worldwide.