Choice Hotels International’s third-quarter profit rose 4.5% from a year earlier, as the company boosted royalty fees from franchised hotels while cutting costs as a percentage of revenue.
Net income increased to $42.3 million (71 cents per share) from $40.5 million, while revenue rose 4.6% to $192.3 million.
Royalty fees were up 6.6% as revenue per available room at Comfort Suites and Rodeway Inn hotels increased 7.5% and 6.4%, respectively. Overall, Choice's RevPAR increased 5.4% from a year earlier on increases in both room rates and occupancy.
Meanwhile, Choice cut selling and administrative costs, while marketing and reservation expenses rose just 1%.
Choice Hotels was expected to earn 60 cents a share on $193.6 million in revenue, according to the average analyst estimate in a Thomson Reuters survey.
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