Choice Hotels International reached a milestone with the opening of its 100th Suburban Studios hotel, demonstrating its go-to-market growth strategy that has driven growth of 45 percent in 18 months. Since the relaunch of the legacy Suburban Studios brand in 2022, inclusive of design and brand identity refresh, the brand has grown at a record pace, with five hotels opening in October and eight in the month of November. The 100th Suburban Studios is now open in Bloomington, Minn.
“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,” Ron Burgett, senior vice president, extended stay development at Choice Hotels, said in a statement. “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.”
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.
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 favorable 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.”
Despite higher interest rates, Choice is bullish on extended stay projects in the pipeline, and this milestone highlights and reinforces the attractiveness of Choice’s extended stay platform and leadership position in the segment. For the first nine months of 2023, extended-stay hotel openings grew by 38 percent compared to the same period in 2022. Choice’s extended-stay domestic pipeline increased 12 percent year over year to over 47,000 rooms in the third quarter of this year.