Ralph Thiergart has been appointed Vice President and General Manager of Extended Stay Brands at Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Choice Hotels announced the promotion of Ralph Thiergart to vice president and general manager of extended stay brands. In this new role, Thiergart will oversee Choice's extended stay portfolio and operations, highlighted by the recently acquired WoodSpring Suites as well as MainStay Suites and Suburban Extended Stay.
Thiergart has been an integral part of Choice's franchise services team since 2005, most recently serving as vice president of franchise services. During his tenure, he led the company's domestic franchise onboarding and field-based property performance teams as well as brand standards and compliance organization. In addition, he facilitated the creation of the company's award-winning franchisee training platform, Choice University, and worked closely with Choice's franchisee advisory councils.
Thiergart has more than 30 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Choice Hotels, he oversaw sales and marketing for the Lexington Hotel Suites brand, and led sales, marketing and operations at a leading hotel management company, Dimension Development. Earlier in his career, he held influential franchisor and franchisee representative roles in the early development of both the Residence Inn and Homewood Suites brands. Thiergart earned his bachelor's degrees in biology and business administration from Newman University, and is a member of the International Franchise Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.
