Choice Hotels’ Patrick Pacious Is Out as CEO

Choice Hotels said Wednesday that Patrick Pacious is stepping down as president and CEO after nearly nine years running the franchising giant, with Chief Growth & Strategy Officer Dominic Dragisich taking over on an interim basis effective immediately.

A leadership swap at one of the world’s largest hotel franchisors, with no permanent successor named and an outside search underway, follows a rough first quarter when results came in far below the industry average. CoStar data showed U.S. RevPAR up nearly 4% from a year earlier. But Choice came in at minus 2.3%.

“We