Hotel Brands Detail Development Plans
Several extended stay and all-suite hotel brands last month detailed their upcoming development plans during the Americas Lodging and Investment Summit in Los Angeles.
Hyatt Place, an extended stay brand that Global Hyatt Corp. introduced last year, this month will break ground on five new hotels—near Seattle; Orlando; South Bend, Ind.; Reno, Nev.; and Jackson, Miss. Hyatt, which has four Hyatt Place hotels open today, plans to have 120 open by year-end, including in Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta, Miami and Detroit. Much of this will come from the conversion of existing properties to the new brand. Hyatt acquired AmeriSuites from the Blackstone Group in 2005 for such purposes.
Hyatt plans to complete by this autumn a 128-room hotel near Orlando, a 153-room hotel near Washington Dulles International Airport and a 115-room hotel near Norfolk, Va. These and five scheduled groundbreakings for February are part of about 30 hotels, or more than 4,300 rooms, that are being built before the close of 2009. Hyatt's extended stay venture also includes a Hyatt Summerfield Suites brand of Summerfield Suites properties acquired last year, two new builds and other conversions of acquired Bradford HomeSuites and Hawthorn Suites. The brand plans soon to comprise more than 30 hotels.
Hilton's Homewood Suites, meanwhile, is nearing the opening of its 200th property on March 27 in Avondale, Ariz. It's a part of 122 properties now in Homewood Suites' development pipeline, including its first in Mexico, scheduled to open this June.
Homewood Suites also detailed amenity upgrades. In addition to a new suite-selection tool that allows preferred customers to select specific rooms when making an online reservation, the brand is enhancing its food and beverage services.
Marriott International's SpringHill Suites already has 155 hotels across the United States and Canada and more than 140 properties in its development pipeline, and recently unveiled an expanded fitness area, outdoor terraces and a 24-hour market. Guest rooms also have been redesigned, including separation of the areas for the shower and the restroom.
Some hotels opening late this year will incorporate elements of the redesign, and the first fully redesigned hotels will open in 2008, Marriott said. Marriott estimated that 75 percent of SpringHill properties will have at least most of the features by the end of 2009.
Choice Hotels International is nearing the debut of its all-suites brand Cambria Suites, for which it so far has garnered 43 franchises, including 10 contracts in the fourth quarter of last year. The first property is scheduled to open next month in Boise, Idaho, and other properties are under construction in Akron, Ohio; Appleton and Green Bay, Wis.; and Savannah, Ga.