US: Choice Hotels International opened 17 MainStay Suites and Suburban Studios between January 1 and September 17, 2024.
Breaking into the key markets of Las Vegas, Nevada (with a second hotel opening later this month); Moreno Valley, California; Orlando and Tampa, Florida, 16 of the 17 hotels opened across the two brands are conversions, with the average length of time between contract signing and doors opening around 120 days. Half of the nearly 70 properties in the pipeline for MainStay Suites and Suburban Studios are conversions, expected to open between September 2024 and March 2025.
Choice Hotels‘ extended stays conversion success builds on the company’s “Kitchen-in-a-Box” concept, a modular kitchen design that allows franchisees to quickly and easily convert almost any transient hotel into an extended stay hotel with kitchens in each room in as little as three to four months, enabling owners and developers to start offering extended stay rooms more quickly.
“Choice Hotels experience in conversions, along with innovative, turnkey solutions like kitchen-in-a-box, and our history of strong collaboration with developers, enables us to accelerate the time it takes to convert a typical transient hotel into an extended stay property,” said Ron Burgett, senior vice president, extended stay development at Choice Hotels. “With a team of experts dedicated to extended stay, we are able to support developers throughout the entire conversion process with extreme efficiency.”
“With Choice’s deep expertise in extended stay, our two conversion brands offer a great opportunity to enter the hottest category in hospitality, backed by the same support system that’s made WoodSpring Suites the most successful brand in the segment. From sales and marketing to training, developers can rely on dedicated resources to help maximize their return on investment,” said Matt McElhare, vice president and lead for extended stay brands for Choice Hotels.
The Suburban Studios guest profile includes blue collar infrastructure and construction workers, as well as seasonal workers and families. The MainStay Suites guest profile includes sports teams, medical professionals, business travellers, members of the military, mid-level blue collar workers, students, professors, medical patients, and people relocating or renovating their homes.
MainStay Suites and Suburban Studios offer the comforts of home with a fully equipped kitchen in every room with a full-sized refrigerator, stovetop, microwave, and plenty of counter space, as well as providing flatware and cookware. The guestrooms are clean and spacious allowing guests to unwind and relax or to catch up on work with free Wi-Fi.
MainStay Suites and Suburban Studios participate in Choice Privileges, the award-winning rewards program where members earn points on eligible charges during their stay, which can be redeemed for reward nights at over 7,000 hotels across a diverse portfolio of brands in 45 countries and territories. With the Choice Privileges Mastercard, members can earn more points faster, including on everyday purchases.
Choice Hotels, with a franchise-first focus and an industry-leading retention rate, has been committed to providing its hotel owners with the support they need to succeed since it launched the country’s first hotel chain in 1941. Today, Choice offers franchisees a suite of cutting-edge cloud-based solutions, including the choiceEDGE guest reservation platform and the choiceADVANTAGE property management system, to help franchisees effectively manage room rates, distribution channels, and inventory.
