Dive Brief:

• Choice Hotels International continued the national expansion of its upscale Cambria brand with a four-story, 127-room hotel at the base of Copper Mountain, roughly 70 miles from Denver, the company announced last week. 
• Cambria Hotel Copper Mountain is centrally located with easy access to Vail and Lake Dillon. It features on-site dining, a fitness center, multipurpose indoor and outdoor space, designated meeting and event space and proximity to trails and skiing. The property, operated by O'Reilly Hospitality Management, is the third Cambria hotel in Colorado, following others in Fort Collins and the Denver area. 
• As part of its Cambria growth strategy, Choice is exploring popular outdoor recreation and leisure markets. Copper Mountain is one of several new markets Choice has entered this year to facilitate the brand’s expansion.

Dive Insight:

Cambria’s entry into the Colorado mountains comes as leisure travelers increasingly seek experience-based trips and recreational activities. 

“Cambria has always been committed to growing in highly sought-after markets, and the opening of the Cambria Hotel in Copper Mountain—a thriving ski village in the heart of the Rocky Mountains—represents a natural build on this strategy,” Mark Shalala, SVP of development for upscale brands at Choice, said in a statement.  

The opening of Cambria Hotel Copper Mountain follows the brand’s entry into other new markets earlier this year, including Georgia and the Pacific Northwest. 

Choice opened the Cambria Hotel Savannah Downtown Historic District in April, marking the brand’s first location in Georgia. At the time of the opening, Janis Cannon, SVP of upscale brands at Choice, said the hotel’s location would be ideal for leisure guests given its proximity to 100 restaurants and notable Savannah landmarks. 

In early May, Choice announced two Cambria hotels near Portland. The same month, Choice opened the Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown in the city's central business district to accommodate business travelers. 

While both domestic leisure and business demand have remained strong to start 2023, industry leaders anticipate business and group travel will outpace leisure for the remainder of the year.

Cambria counts more than 68 hotels in its portfolio, including those opened in the first half of 2023. It has 70 more in the pipeline.