US: Choice Hotels International has opened its 100th Suburban Studios hotel, in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Since the relaunch of the Suburban Studios brand in 2022, the brand has been growing fast, and has opened five hotels in October and eight in November.
“We are thrilled to have 100 Suburban Studios open, and we look forward to the next 100. Our innovative solutions to accelerate conversions paired with our business strategy have enabled us to see continued growth within the segment,” said Ron Burgett, senior vice president, extended stay development at Choice Hotels. “Extended stay conversions are much faster to market than their new construction counterparts, helping developers see returns as soon as possible. With a team of more than 60 dedicated extended stay experts, Choice can seamlessly guide developers through the entire conversion process.”
Choice says that with its quick conversion timeline, developers are able to take preexisting properties and convert them into Suburban Studios in as little as three to four months turnaround time. Demand for extended stays is double the supply of purpose-built extended stay product, and extended stay has continued to garner attention as one of the hottest segments in the hospitality industry. As a leader in the segment, Choice has been able to quickly capitalise on opportunities including conversions.
Part of the quick turn success is attributed to Choice Hotels’ “Kitchen in a Box,” a modular kitchen design package introduced for Suburban Studios in spring 2022, allowing franchisees to quickly and easily convert nearly any transient hotel into an extended stay hotel.
“With Choice’s innovative business strategy paired with the segment’s proven bottom-line performance, reduced labor requirements, and favourable demand environment, we’re seeing increased interest across the country and have opened 100 Suburban Studios with 31 more in the pipeline in just the last year and a half,” said Matt McElhare, senior director, extended stay, Choice Hotels. “Since the Suburban Studios relaunch, two out of three developers have used Kitchen in a Box to get in on the extended stay segment.”
