PHOENIX — Choice Hotels International has long championed the extended-stay hotel segment, and the brand recently celebrated a milestone: its 500th extended-stay property opening.
On Oct. 23, Choice opened the Everhome Suites Glendale in Glendale, Arizona, the sixth Everhome Suites property to open.
And there is more growth to come, with more than 350 hotels in Choice's pipeline across its four extended-stay brands — Everhome Suites, WoodSpring Suites, Suburban Studios and MainStay Suites — according to its third-quarter earnings release.
Choice continues to invest in the space, recently unveiling a new "Lobby in a Box" modular design package that is designed to make extended-stay hotel conversions quicker and easier. According to a news release, the package can be implemented in as little as 120 days for its Suburban Suites and MainStay Suites brands.
Matt McElhare, vice president and segment lead of extended stay at Choice, said the prototype is designed for conversions of hotels that weren't previously extended-stay properties. It will allow these properties to turn spaces typically reserved for serving breakfast into more of a hangout area.
"'Lobby in a Box' gave us a way to basically transform that space from formerly a breakfast staging area and a transient hotel into something that feels like an extended-stay public space, which is much more of a living room or a place where you can sit and work and get out of your room," he said at the recent Lodging Conference. "It's going to give the Suburban and MainStay brands further momentum to continue to grow in this environment."
McElhare said there's a lot of opportunity in the segment moving forward, pointing to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act adding travel demand among blue-collar workers — primarily in the Sun Belt region — and an increase in relocations from the West Coast.
"We're really in the early innings of the growth story for extended stay," he said. "Although there's a number of new brands and there's a lot of projects happening, the demand is such that there's going to be really high performance despite the supply growth."
Choice's best-performing markets for extended stay are those exhibiting growth, whether it's in population or business. Texas, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Arizona are some examples of markets with those dynamics, he said.
What makes the segment so intriguing isn't just about its fundamentals, but it's about the new programs, tools and technology capabilities that can be rolled out to improve the stay, he said.
For example, Choice partnered with vendors to bring NFL RedZone and NFL Sunday Ticket to its Everhome Suites and WoodSpring Suites brands so guests can keep up with their favorite teams while on the road.
"Let's say you're doing a project for four months, and if you don't have that package, you're watching whatever the home team is in that market. We like to bring a home feel to all of our brands, and what better way to bring home to the hotel to be able to watch your team?" McElhare said.