Comfort Inn 2026
Docu-Style Feature
Comfort In Action
We produced a docu-style feature for the Comfort Inn brand presentation at the 2026 Choice Hotels convention. This video highlights a real-life incident at the property in which an 18-wheeler drove into the building, causing severe damage to half of it. The Night Auditor, Robyn, immediately went door to door, evacuating guests and prioritizing their comfort and safety. This story shows how an owner-led culture, an overachieving staff, and Choice’s relationship-driven support come together when the unexpected happens. Our production goal had tiered objectives. Overarchingly, the project needed to reinforce the Comfort brand’s promise of excellent hospitality by highlighting that the property’s culture is shaped by a strong owner, staff empowerment, and Choice's support amid disruption. The second message featured Choice’s relationship with Trackhouse Racing and the brand’s commitment to celebrate team members.
Our production team and Comfort’s brand leaders traveled to North Carolina and interviewed the hotel staff. We wanted them to tell their own story, which was necessary for the emotional pull of the video. We chose to film our Hero, Robyn, at night. We re-created her average shift routine, and then used archived security footage and photos from the hotel to show the aftermath of the crash. The interview set was staged to have a dramatic feel. For each shot, the lighting was intentionally warm, and the shots were filmed in slow-mo to evoke emotion. We also had the owner walk through the remaining damage in the corridor from the accident. However, we then also filmed him in the renovated spaces to show the growth in action.
Without focusing on the accident itself, we chose to center the video on the team’s perseverance. Each interview addressed this, but we also decided to produce a scene in which staff came together for a moment of reflection. We created a scrapbook containing moments when the community supported the hotel after the accident, and had the staff flip through the memories. This created a heartfelt sequence to end the video. To tie in the Trackhouse angle, we had NASCAR driver Conor Zilisch record a video and send it to us. We played it for the staff and captured their reactions in real time as they applauded Robyn’s courage. This story was really about Choice recognizing the people who show up and rise to the occasion. The video played at the convention and received positive feedback from the audience, and the team from Shelby, North Carolina was celebrated.
