Senior Director, Extended Stay Brand Strategy

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Director, Extended Stay Brand Strategy serves as a key member of the Extended Stay leadership team and is responsible for defining and advancing the long-term strategy, positioning, and value proposition for Choice’s extended stay portfolio, including WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, MainStay Suites, and Suburban Studios. This role oversees Brand Management and Brand Activation functions and ensures portfolio strategies drive sustainable growth, market differentiation, franchisee profitability, guest satisfaction, and owner returns. The position partners closely with Development, Marketing, Operations, and executive leaders to align strategic priorities, evaluate growth opportunities, and strengthen brand performance across the portfolio. The role leads a team of managers and directors while providing executive-level recommendations that connect brand strategy to enterprise growth and franchisee value.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Portfolio Strategy & Brand Leadership

• Define and lead the long-term strategic vision and portfolio strategy for Choice’s Extended Stay brands.

• Develop clear and differentiated guest, owner, franchisee, developer, and investor value propositions for each brand.

• Establish annual and multi-year strategic priorities aligned with growth objectives, competitive dynamics, and market opportunities.

• Monitor industry trends, owner sentiment, guest expectations, and competitive activity to inform future portfolio strategy.

• Ensure Brand Management and Brand Activation efforts support long-term brand health and business performance.

Franchisee Value & Owner Economics

• Serve as the portfolio leader for owner economics, including cost-to-build, cost-to-operate, franchise profitability, and return-on-investment considerations.

• Evaluate strategic tradeoffs involving brand standards, prototypes, operating models, and investment requirements.

• Develop recommendations that balance guest experience, franchisee economics, and enterprise objectives.

• Support business cases and strategic initiatives designed to improve owner value and portfolio competitiveness.

Development Strategy & Business Growth

• Partner with Development leadership on growth strategies, seminars, key client presentations, and strategic owner discussions.

• Review and approve major development opportunities to ensure alignment with brand positioning, target customer segments, and long-term growth plans.

• Guide the development of owner-facing materials that clearly communicate investment rationale, operating model advantages, and brand differentiation.

• Support expansion initiatives that drive sustainable unit growth and strengthen market presence.

Franchisee and Owner Engagement

• Lead strategic preparation and engagement for Franchise Advisory Councils (FACs), owner forums, and industry events.

• Build trusted relationships with franchisees, owners, developers, management companies, and key external stakeholders.

• Translate owner feedback into strategic recommendations and action plans.

• Reinforce franchisee confidence through transparent communication and value-focused decision-making.

Brand Activation & Marketing Alignment

• Provide strategic oversight to brand activation, owner engagement, communications, and portfolio initiatives.

• Partner with Marketing leadership to ensure campaigns, partnerships, messaging, and programs support portfolio positioning and demand generation objectives.

• Ensure major initiatives include clear business cases, implementation plans, success measures, and communication strategies.

• Advocate for alignment across enterprise functions to support high-priority brand initiatives.

Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness

• Lead, coach, develop, and retain a high-performing team of brand strategy and brand management professionals.

• Establish priorities, decision frameworks, performance expectations, and succession plans across the organization.

• Manage budgets, external vendor relationships, consultants, and strategic investments.

• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• Serve as a senior representative of the Extended Stay business internally and externally.

QUALIFICATIONS

Employment Experience

• Minimum 12 to 15 years of progressive experience in brand strategy, portfolio strategy, hospitality, franchise operations, development strategy, consulting, product management, or a related field.

• Minimum 7 years of leadership experience managing professional and/or management-level talent.

• Experience leading managers and developing high-performing teams.

• Hospitality, lodging, travel, franchise, or multi-unit consumer brand experience strongly preferred.

• Extended Stay segment experience strongly preferred.

• Proven experience working with franchisees, owners, developers, management companies, or advisory councils.

• Experience launching, repositioning, scaling, or evolving consumer-facing brands.

• Demonstrated success influencing cross-functional leaders and driving enterprise-wide strategic initiatives.

Technical Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Copilot.

• Strong financial analysis and business case development skills.

• Ability to interpret performance metrics, market intelligence, guest insights, and owner economics.

• Experience managing budgets, strategic initiatives, consultants, and external vendors.

• Familiarity with hospitality, revenue management, business intelligence, and market analytics tools preferred.

Additional Skills & Competencies

• Strategic thinking and portfolio management expertise.

• Executive presence and communication skills.

• Financial and business acumen.

• Relationship building and stakeholder management.

• Leadership and organizational development.

• Influencing and change management.

• Decision-making in complex and ambiguous environments.

• Customer and franchisee-focused mindset.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Hospitality, Finance, Strategy, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience required.

• MBA, Master’s degree in Strategy, Leadership, Hospitality, Business Administration, or related field or equivalent combination of education and work experience strongly preferred.

• Relevant professional certifications may be considered in combination with experience.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel up to 40% as business needs require.

• Ability to model organizational values including collaboration, customer focus, integrity, inclusion, accountability, and performance excellence.

SALARY RANGE

The salary range for this position is $188,076 to $221,226 annually. In addition to the annual salary, this role is eligible for an annual bonus based on the terms of Choice's Management Incentive Plan (MIP), as well as annual awards of Choice Hotels International common stock through Choice’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTI Plan).