First Cambria Suites opens in Boise, ID

BOISE, ID— Slightly more than two years after launching its Cambria Suites brand, Choice Hotels International officially opened its first franchised Cambria here April 17. Owned by the Summit Group Inc. of Sioux Falls, SD, the 119-room Cambria Suites Boise Airport is a new-build, select-service, all-suites product that was among the first of more than two-dozen brands that emerged in 2005, spiking owner interest. “It’s great to see something go from concept to actual fruition. It’s the birth of the brand,” Charles Ledsinger Jr., vice chairman and CEO of brand parent Choice Hotels International, told a group gathered for the hotel’s grand opening. Chris Bills, president and CEO of Summit Group, which entered the state in 1996 and owns three other hotels in the market, said, “The new hotel really complements what we’ve done over the past 11 years. We like Boise and look for more things from us here.” The brick and stucco exterior property, located at 2970 West Elder St., offers suites that are 25% larger than industry standards and incorporate separate work/living room and bedroom areas. Room features include two flat-panel LCD televisions, a CD/DVD player, a refrigerator, a microwave, in-room coffee/tea service, an ergonomic work chair and desk, a pullout sleeper sofa, a chair and an ottoman. The hotel’s public spaces feature a two-story lobby/lounge with a combination bar that offers beer, wine and liquor and includes a barista bar serving coffee and tea drinks. There’s also a grab and go food section and a hot breakfast buffet priced at $10.50. A convenience store provides beverages, snacks and sundries on a 24/7 basis. In addition, there are three meeting rooms, a business center, a fitness center with Precor equipment, an indoor pool and a guest laundry facility. Guests may also connect to the Internet with free Wi-Fi while on property. The new brand also will offer a guest-satisfaction guarantee, according to William Edmundson, vp of brand strategy and management for Cambria. “At Cambria Suites we offer an unconditional, 100% satisfaction guarantee called the Cambria Pledge. What the means is guests are going to have a good stay, be satisfied with their stay or we’ll put our money where our mouth is,” he said. “That’s saying a lot but that’s how confident we are about this brand.” Summit also was confident about the brand and had actually pushed ahead with plans to build one before Choice had completed the prototype. Bills said the company bet on the brand based on its strong, ongoing relationship with Choice. “And given the weather and the building patterns, we just wanted to get going a little quicker than they might have been ready for us. It worked out fine. The second reason is we know Boise really well. We’ve been here 11 years. And, finally, we knew the airport market, which is really a sub-downtown market that really lacked an upscale, all-suites, new trendy place to stay,” said Bills. “When I was told this was the first Cambria Suites in the nation and it was to open in Boise, ID, my first response was ‘Why?’ and my second response was ‘Why not?’” said Carl Wilgus, Idaho Commerce and Labor Division of Tourism administrator. “It’s the investment of private sector groups like Summit Group and the Cambria Suites people who chose a place like Boise that’s going to make this a special place and going to continue to grow this industry in the state of Idaho,” he said. To mark the occasion, a plaque mounted on the entrance to the hotel was unveiled with the date the brand was launched. “We’re not just building hotels, we’re building a brand,” noted Edmundson. As of March 31, there were 49 Cambria Suites under development in 21 states. The property had been slated to open last summer. However, Bills said complications with the nine-acre parcel of land pushed back the opening date. “We had to parcel off just under three acres to make this property happen. To go through that planning and permitting and rezoni