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CHOICE HOTELS [ For Immediate Release ] CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL REPORTS 2021 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS First quarter change in domestic RevPAR outperformed the overall industry by 23 percentage points compared to both 2019 and 2020 ; dividend and share repurchase program reinstated ROCKVILLE , Md . , May 10 , 2021 - Choice Hotels International , Inc. ( NYSE : CHH ) , one of the world's largest lodging franchisors , today reported its results for the three months ended March 31 , 2021 . " The strategic decisions we have made in recent years and our targeted actions amid the pandemic to support our franchisees drove impressive first quarter results that position the company to further capitalize on growth opportunities in 2021 and beyond , " said Patrick Pacious , president and chief executive officer , Choice Hotels . “ Our results are a testament to the success of our long - term growth strategy to invest in brands built for the customer of tomorrow . We believe our high- quality , well - segmented brand portfolio , compelling franchisee value proposition and the continued expansion of our travel platform , combined with our strong balance sheet , will allow us to continue to grow our share of travel demand in the years to come . " Highlights of first quarter and year - to - date 2021 results include : 1 • • • • Domestic systemwide revenue per available room ( RevPAR ) change outperformed the total industry by 23 percentage points , declining 18.7 % and 4.4 % for first quarter 2021 compared to the same periods of 2019 and 2020 , respectively . The company's performance has continued the trend of sequential domestic systemwide RevPAR change improvement , with April 2021 RevPAR declining approximately 4.2 % versus April 2019 and increasing 140 % from April 2020 . The company's Board of Directors reinstated the dividend at the pre - pandemic rate and declared a cash dividend on the company's common stock of $ 0.225 per share . The dividend is payable on July 16 , 2021 to stockholders of record on July 1 , 2021. The Board has also approved the resumption of the company's share repurchase program . The company awarded 89 domestic franchise agreements in first quarter 2021 , a 53 % increase compared to the same period of the prior year . Over 80 % of the agreements awarded in the first quarter were for conversion hotels . Net income was $ 22.3 million for first quarter 2021 , representing diluted earnings per share ( EPS ) of $ 0.40 . 1 RevPAR comparison data is shown for comparable prior year periods that include 2019 and 2020 for additional context in light of the onset of the COVID - 19 pandemic toward the end of the first quarter of 2020 .