The Choice Hotels International Foundation has donated $5,000 to the Salvation Army to assist victims of the Rodeo-Chediski fire that raged in the Show-Low area of Arizona.
The Rodeo-Chediski, the worse wildfire in the history of Arizona, took over three weeks to contain. The fire charred over 469,000 acres on Arizona`s Mogollon Rim, destroyed almost 500 structures from Heber to Pinetop/Lakeside and forced more than 30,000 people to evacuate their homes.
In addition to the $5,000 donation from the Choice Hotels International Foundation, many Choice brand hotels in the region rallied to the aid of the victims with money and supplies. For example, the Comfort Inn and Econo Lodge in Holbrook and seven Choice brand hotels in Flagstaff offered discounted rates and voided their pet policies to accommodate evacuees.
“We were overwhelmed with evacuees, Red Cross volunteers and insurance adjusters,” said Harry Singh, general manager of both the Holbrook Comfort Inn and Econo Lodge, located only 50 miles north of Show-Low. “Over a dozen guests had completely lost their homes to the fire. Every room was occupied with children, adults and pets.”
To accommodate guests staying at his Comfort Inn and Econo Lodge, Singh negotiated a deal with the manager of Jerry`s Restaurant, an on-site eatery, which also offered discounts to evacuees.
The following Choice brand hotels were among those offering in-kind contributions to evacuees:

*The Sleep Inn in Flagstaff, Arizona donated 15 mattress sets to the Red Cross;
*The Comfort Inn in Camp Verde, Arizona donated soap and shampoo;
*The Comfort Inn at 2355 S. Beulah Blvd. in Flagstaff donated six cases of soap; and
*The Econo Lodge at 2480 E. Lucky Lane in Flagstaff donated bags of personal hygiene items.
Based in Silver Spring, Md., Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) franchises more than 5,000 hotels open or under development worldwide in 46 countries under the Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brand names.
In November, 1999, Choice established the Choice Hotels International Foundation to target and coordinate support for nonprofit charitable and educational organizations. In the past year, the Choice Hotels International Foundation has given grants to the American Red Cross, the Habitat for Humanity, Northern Arizona University, the Arizona Hotel Foundation and many other charitable and educational organizations.
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