SEC Company Response from CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL (CHH) — Apr 16, 2026
CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL INC /DE (CHH) (CIK 0001046311)
Date: April 16, 2026 · CIK: 0001046311 · Accession: 0001193125-26-159833
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 001-13393
Referenced dates: April 6, 2026
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CORRESP 1 filename1.htm CORRESP Ms. Jennifer Monick Mr. Eric McPhee Division of Corporation Finance Office of Real Estate & Construction Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20549 Re: Choice Hotels International, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 Form 8-K filed February 19, 2026 File No. 001-13393 April 16, 2026 Dear Ms. Monick and Mr. McPhee: Choice Hotels International, Inc. (the “Company,” “Choice,” “we,” or “our”) is submitting this letter in response to the comment letter dated April 6, 2026 from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), regarding the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (the “Form 10-K”) and Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 19, 2026 (the “Form 8-K”). For ease of reference, we have retyped the text of the Staff’s comments in italics below. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Operations Review, page 40 1. Please tell us what consideration you have given to including a discussion, within your results of operations, of any known trends or uncertainties that have had or are reasonably likely to have a material effect on your revenues, expenses or net income. Your response should address, but not necessarily be limited to, what consideration you gave to discussing the impact of reduced government and international travel, which you discussed during your earnings calls for periods ending in 2025. Refer to Items 303(a) and (b)(2)(ii) of Regulation S-K and trend information within Releases No.33-6835 and 33-8350. The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment. We considered the requirements of Items 303(a) and (b)(2)(ii) of Regulation S-K and the trend information within Releases No. 33-6835 and 33-8350, in determining whether to disclose within Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of the Form 10-K any known trends or uncertainties that have had or are reasonably likely to have a material effect on the Company’s revenues, expenses, or net income. In performing this evaluation, we considered the changes in government and international travel during the periods ending in 2025. Although we mentioned “our fourth-quarter results were also affected by the government shutdown and continued softness in international inbound travel” during our earnings calls for the periods ending in 2025, the impact was immaterial to the Company’s consolidated revenues, expenses, and net income for the year ended 2025 as the total of government and international travel represents an immaterial portion (less than 5%) of the Company’s overall demand for travel across our US hotel portfolio. It should be noted that the aggregate impact of that reduced demand on our financial statements is further reduced based on the nature of our position as franchisor, in which we generate revenues through a percentage fee of our third-party hotel owner’s revenues. Given that our disclosures are for the full-year period, and the impact was not material, we concluded that inclusion within Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of the Form 10-K was not warranted. We will continue to evaluate these factors in future periods and will provide additional disclosure if we determine that a known trend or uncertainty is reasonably likely to have a material effect on the Company’s revenues, expenses or net income. Furthermore, we will continue to evaluate the consistency of our disclosures over known trends within Management’s Discussion and Analysis and other publicly available information, including statements made in earnings releases or earnings calls. Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 17. Acquisitions, page 91 2. We note your disclosure that the fair value of the reacquired territory rights and the franchise agreements were valued using a valuation methodology that utilizes Level 3 inputs. Please tell us how you determined it was not necessary to provide quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used in such fair value measurement. Please refer to ASC 820-10-50-2(bbb). The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and the disclosure requirements in ASC 820-10-50-2(bbb) related to providing quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used in fair value measurements. The fair values of the reacquired territory rights and the franchise agreements were determined using valuation techniques that incorporate unobservable inputs. While these inputs are unobservable, we determined that providing quantitative information about individual unobservable inputs would not be meaningful to investors for the following reasons: • The valuation models used multiple interrelated unobservable inputs, including future cash flows, royalty rates, and discount rates, that are developed and evaluated collectively, and changes to one input would not be meaningful without corresponding changes to the other inputs. Further, there was little sensitivity in the unobservable inputs as reasonable changes to the unobservable inputs do not materially impact the valuation of the reacquired territory rights and the franchise agreements. We concluded that no individual unobservable input was independently significant, as changes to any individual unobservable input would not be meaningful in isolation and would not materially impact the valuation. • The Company believes its existing qualitative disclosures appropriately describe the nature of the unobservable inputs, valuation methodologies, and judgments applied, and therefore satisfy the objectives of the disclosure requirements in ASC 820. The Company will continue to evaluate the significance of any unobservable inputs in future transactions and to the extent that such unobservable inputs are significant and the quantitative disclosures are meaningful to investors, then we will disclose the quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used in the respective fair value measurements. Form 8-K filed February 19, 2026 Exhibits 3. We refer you to Exhibit 99.1. We note that your calculation of EBITDA contains adjustments for items other than interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Please revise future earnings releases to ensure that measures calculated differently from EBITDA are not characterized as EBITDA, or advise. Reference is made to Question 103.01 of the Corporation Finance Interpretations for Non-GAAP Financial Measures. The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment. We will remove the calculation of EBITDA in future filings because Adjusted EBITDA is the primary metric utilized to communicate our financial results to investors. Noted below is a revised presentation of the Adjusted EBITDA reconciliations for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 that reflects this change, and a presentation of the 2026 Outlook for the full year ended December 31, 2026 that reflects this change. Exhibit 6 CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) ADJUSTED EARNINGS BEFORE INTEREST, TAXES, DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION (“ADJUSTED EBITDA”) (dollar amounts in thousands) Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31, December 31, 2025 2024 2025 2024 Net income $ 63,682 $ 75,804 $ 369,946 $ 299,665 Income tax expense 13,920 25,904 86,945 95,980 Interest expense 23,680 21,067 91,148 87,131 lnterest income (1,787 ) (2,089 ) (6,237 ) (8,646 ) Depreciation and amortization 16,783 13,408 59,715 51,953 Amortization of cloud computing arrangements 324 — 513 — Gain from an acquisition of a joint venture — — (100,025 ) — Gain on sale of assets — — (713 ) — Loss on extinguishment of debt — — — 331 Other (gains) losses, net (1,330 ) 1,774 (6,989 ) 1,641 Equity in net loss (gain) of affiliates 3,289 (3,241 ) 14,324 (12,329 ) Share-based compensation 3,083 5,634 21,606 21,118 Mark to market adjustments on non-qualified retirement plan investments 1,153 224 7,060 7,409 Franchise agreement acquisition cost amortization and charges 4,478 3,361 20,062 14,953 Revenue for reimbursable costs from franchised and managed properties (155,997 ) (161,116 ) (616,204 ) (638,192 ) Reimbursable expenses from franchised and managed properties 158,899 154,487 663,336 656,344 Global ERP system implementation and related costs 2,264 791 5,917 1,377 Business combination, diligence and transition costs (recoveries) 2,761 (490 ) 4,701 17,233 Non-recurring operational restructuring charges and executive severance 5,720 4,895 10,519 5,683 Expenses associated with legal claims — — — 2,430 Adjusted EBITDA $ 140,922 $ 140,413 $ 625,624 $ 604,081 Exhibit 7 CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC. OUTLOOK (UNAUDITED) Guidance represents the company’s range of estimated outcomes for the full year ended December 31, 2026 ADJUSTED EBITDA (in thousands) Full Year Lower Range Full Year Upper Range Net income $ 265,000 $ 275,000 Income tax expense 88,200 91,800 Interest expense 87,600 89,000 Interest income (6,500 ) (6,500 ) Depreciation and amortization 64,500 64,500 Amortization of cloud computing arrangements 1,200 1,200 Other losses, net 100 100 Equity in net loss of affiliates 11,900 11,900 Share-based compensation 20,700 20,700 Franchise agreement acquisition cost amortization and charges 26,100 26,100 Revenue for reimbursable costs from franchised and managed properties (605,300 ) (605,300 ) Reimbursable expenses from franchised and managed properties 675,300 675,300 Global ERP system implementation and related costs 1,700 1,700 Business combination, diligence and transition costs 1,500 1,500 Adjusted EBITDA $ 632,000 $ 647,000 Please do not hesitate to call me at (301) 592-6659 with any questions or further comments you may have or if you wish to discuss the above responses. Regards, CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC. By: /s/ Scott E. Oaksmith Name: Scott E. Oaksmith Title: Chief Financial Officer