For the second consecutive year, Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) - franchisor of the Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn hotel brand names - has received a “Workplace Excellence” Seal of Approval Award and the “Excellent Place to Work” designation from the Maryland Work&#126Life Alliance, a statewide coalition of private, public, nonprofit organizations committed to empowering employers across the state to create and become recognized as “Excellent Places to Work.”
Choice Hotels received the award in College Park, Md. on Thursday, February 12. Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan presented the awards to Choice Hotels and other Maryland-based employers.

“Choice Hotels is grateful to be singled out for the second year in a row for the Workplace Excellence Seal of Approval Award and the Excellent Place to Work designation,” said Tom Mirgon, Choice Hotels’ senior vice president of human resources and administration. “Happy employees are productive employees and our goal at Choice Hotels is to establish policies and practices that help our employees to reach their full potential on the job and to balance responsibilities in other aspects of their lives.”

“These award-winning employers realize that creating a sustained work life culture makes sound business sense,” said Evelyne Steward, Vice President of Work/Life Discovery Communications, Inc. “Research continues to show that when you consider the needs of your employees in all aspects of their lives, a win-win situation is created. Employees achieve personal and professional success resulting in improved organizational performance.”

The “Excellent Place to Work” designation is a seal of quality that the Maryland Work&#126Life Alliance is working to market as a recognized standard. Employers receiving the award meet stringent standards and are reviewed by a panel of professors from the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University.

The Maryland Work&#126Life Alliance, an expansion of the Montgomery Work&#126Life Alliance was founded to support the State of Maryland’s objective to become a state of choice for quality of life and work by creating “Excellent Places to Work.” Through the implementation of work-life strategies, employers together with their employees will create healthy work environments that support workers to achieve their goals both in the workplace, at home and in their communities. For more information visit the National Work&#126Life alliance web site at www.worklifealliance.org.

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) franchises more than 5,000 hotels open and under development worldwide under the Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands in 44 countries. For more information on Choice Hotels, visit the company’s Internet site at www.choicehotels.com.
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