Choice Hotels International achieved year-over-year growth across most metrics in the second quarter, including in U.S. room openings and revenue per available room, a welcome sight with a new face at the helm.
Dom Dragisich, interim CEO of Choice, said in his first earnings call in his role that net rooms growth is his top operating priority.
Choice's U.S. hotel room openings increased 27% year over year in the second quarter. It opened about 6,400 U.S. rooms, the highest second-quarter mark since 2019, and had the fewest second-quarter room exits since 2020.
Choice's global net hotel rooms grew 2.6% year over year in the quarter.
"The decline in exits reflects the growing value we're delivering to our franchisees through the Choice system, along with stronger franchisee engagement and improving owner economics," Dragisich said. " ... These trends reinforce my confidence that we're building a stronger foundation for sustained global and U.S. net rooms growth."
Dragisich took over as Choice's interim CEO after Pat Pacious stepped down from the role in May. Choice's board of directors is currently in the process of a "comprehensive search" for a full-time CEO, though analysts have deemed Dragisich as the likely successor.
During Choice's second-quarter earnings call, Dragisich said his focus is on execution, and he believes his job is to close the gap between where the company currently sits and where he believes it can be.
"Since stepping in, I've spent most of my time listening to our franchisees and teams across the company," he said. "Those conversations have reinforced three priorities for me: staying close to our franchisees and the guests they serve; moving with greater urgency across the business; and being disciplined about where we invest our time and capital."
To achieve these priorities, Choice needs "greater speed, discipline and accountability to deliver stronger results for our franchisees and shareholders," Dragisich said.
"We'll be candid about where we're making progress and where we still have work to do," he said. "Ultimately, you'll measure us by the results we deliver, and that's the standard I hold us to."
Dragisich said Choice will return to its asset-light franchising roots in order to maximize long-term shareholder value.
Choice upgraded its full-year outlook across metrics such as: adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; U.S. and global revenue per available room; U.S. royalty rate; and global net rooms growth in its second-quarter earnings release.
"The RevPAR improvement we saw during the second quarter, together with the trends since quarter end, show we are moving in the right direction. I am confident this business can perform at an even higher level as we continue to realize greater value from the investments we've made in our commercial engine and technology platform, while maintaining a renewed focus on execution," Dragisich said.
By the numbers
In the U.S., Choice's hotel revenue per available room increased 1.3% year over year to $58.92 in the second quarter, according to its earnings report. Average daily rate at Choice's U.S. hotels was $98.28, up 0.7% year over year, while occupancy increased 40 basis points to 60%.
Across its total system, revenue per available room increased 1.7% year over year to $61.95 in the second quarter. Average daily rate was $101.45, up 1.2% from the second quarter last year, and occupancy was up 40 basis points to 61.1%.
Choice's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $175 million in the second quarter, up from $165 million in 2025. Its total revenues for the quarter were $441 million, an increase from $426 million in the second quarter last year.
The company's net income for the second quarter was $64.3 million, down from $81.7 million in the second quarter of 2025.
As of publication time, Choice's stock price was trading at $111.79 per share, a 16.3% increase year to date. The NYSE Composite Index was up 10.3% for the same time period.