1980s, Choice bought Friendship Inn, Rodeway Inn, and Econo Lodge. In 1989, the company introduced McSleep, an economy brand utilizing a consistent, interior-corridor design prototype designed by Rob Spurr that was all new construction. The name was soon changed to Sleep Inn following litigation from McDonald's. Bainum's other business, Manor Care, Inc., which owned and managed nursing homes, bought Choice Hotels in 1990. The company later spun off its hotels business in 1996. Bainum Sr. led Choice Hotels International until 1987, when his son, Stewart W. Bainum Jr., took over the role of chairman and chief executive. As of 2018, Bainum Jr. remains chairman of Choice Hotels. Choice Hotels International became publicly traded in 1996. That same year, it announced the establishment of the MainStay Suites brand, a midscale extended-stay hotel. In the mid-2000s, Choice Hotels expanded into the upscale hotel market. The company announced in 2005 the creation of its Cambria Hotels & Suites brand, later renamed Cambria Hotels, the company's first new brand since MainStay Suites's creation in 1996. The Cambria brand was created as an upscale hotel chain marketed to business travelers. , the Cambria brand had expanded to about 100 hotels open or in the pipeline, including hotels in Philadelphia, Dallas, New Orleans, South Windsor, Connecticut and Savannah, Georgia. In 2008, Choice Hotels was the first industry chain to establish a "soft brand", Ascend Hotel Collection. The Ascend Hotel Collection includes upscale boutique and historic hotels whose owners are subject to fewer fixed brand standards compared with Choice's other brands. Recent history Choice Hotels began a transformation of its Comfort properties in 2012, with the company removing its franchising from 600 properties that did not meet Choice Hotels’ new standards. Choice Hotels rebranded Comfort in 2018, which brought its Comfort Inn, Comfort Inn & Suites, and Comfort Suites brands under one umbrella. Some of the Comfort properties that didn't meet Choice's standards for the brand were rebranded under the Quality Inn brand, as Comfort and Quality swapped market positions within Choice's hierarchy. In October 2010, officials in Maryland and Montgomery County announced that Choice Hotels International would move its headquarters from Silver Spring, to a new facility in Rockville Town Center in Rockville. Groundbreaking occurred in August 2011, and Choice Hotels completed the move into the new headquarters in June 2013. Throughout its history, Choice Hotels introduced new features into the hotel industry, including having all