Comfort Inns/Suites is an American hotel chain owned by Choice Hotels. The first Comfort Inn opened in July 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia as a lower-midscale, limited-service chain by Quality Inns (the predecessor to Choice Hotels), and the brand was marketed to families, business travelers, and seniors. Comfort Inns typically feature continental breakfast, where other features such as swimming pools, conference rooms, exercise centers, on-site restaurants vary by location. In 1987, Comfort Suites, an all-suite version of Comfort Inn, opened in Anaheim, California, with additional Comfort Suites locations opening over the years, along with Comfort Inn & Suites locations with a mix of standard rooms and suites. Comfort Inn (along with Quality Inn) expanded into Canada in 1993 in a partnership with Journey's End hotels, where Journey's End properties were renamed Comfort Inn (or Quality Inn) by Journey's End; the "by Journey's End" designation was dropped later on. In 1998, Comfort Inn (along with Quality Inn and Clarion) expanded into Australia with a partnership with Flag International, Inc.; Choice Hotels purchased Flag outright in 2003 and converted their remaining properties to Choice Hotel brands, including Comfort Inns. In 2002, Comfort Suites became a separate brand from Comfort Inn, receiving a new logo and being more upscale than Comfort Inn locations (now in the upper-midscale category), typically including exercise centers, swimming pools, and in some cases, conference rooms. In 2018, Comfort Inn and Comfort Suites were brought back into one brand, using the same logo. Also, around this time, Comfort Inn and Quality Inn switched positions in Choice Hotel's hierarchy, with Comfort Inns/Suites now being seen as upper-midscale as opposed to lower-midscale (except in Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden, where the Comfort brand remains in the economy category); some Comfort Inns/Suites that did not fit the brand's revised image were rebranded as Quality Inns/Suites. Overall, Comfort Inns/Suites operates in over 40 countries worldwide.
See also[]
- Best Western - competitor
- Hampton by Hilton - competitor
- Holiday Inn - competitor
- Quality Inn - sister chain