Choice Hotels Europe, the company behind the Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands and one of the largest and most successful lodging franchisors in the world, today announced the launch of its 2012 European Hotel Directory which includes details of nearly 500 hotels located in 13 European countries.

The 2012 Directory includes details of the 25 new Choice-brand hotels opened in Europe during the first half of 2011, including the Comfort Inn Hyde Park, the Clarion Hotel Château Belmont in Tours, France, and the Clarion Collection Hotel Frankfurt City in Germany.

The directory provides information for travellers and travel arrangers in 10 European languages including Czech, Danish, English, Estonian, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish, and also details information for each hotel property such as restaurant, business centre and parking facilities, air-conditioning in bedrooms and WiFi internet access.  It also details nearby attractions for those planning leisure trips such as the hotel’s proximity to the sea, ski-resorts and amusement parks. Pet owners can also plan trips around those hotels that are marked as being pet-friendly.

Also included is information on over 75 superior conference venues available at selected Clarion and Quality-branded hotels across Europe in locations as varied as Prague, Oslo, Nice and Tallinn.

Mark Pearce, Senior Vice President, Choice Hotels International, commented: “The directory showcases our network of franchised hotels offering business and leisure travellers a full spectrum from economy to luxury hotels to choose from.”

Directory users can also benefit from a special offer to get 1,000 free bonus points when they join Choice Privileges, the award-winning rewards programme, by logging on to www.choiceprivileges.com/signup/JCPEUDIRE.

Originally launched in the United States in 1998, the Choice Privileges rewards programme has been available in Europe since 2008. Members can earn points or miles at 5,500 locations around the world and also enjoy express check-in, extended check-out, and the opportunity to redeem points for free nights at thousands of properties throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australasia, North America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.  Members can also redeem points at luxury partner hotels, such as Preferred Hotels® & Resorts, through airline partners including airberlin, United Airlines, Qantas, Delta, and Czech Airlines, and car hire partners Avis and Budget.

Choice Hotels Europe franchises nearly 500 hotels across Europe alone. Brands franchised by Choice Hotels Europe include Clarion, described as four-star, Quality, which sits in the three-star bracket and provides a mid-scale full service offering and Comfort, the largest Choice Hotels International brand worldwide, known for value and reliability.