Candlewood Debuts Upscale Cambridge

<B>Candlewood Debuts Upscale Cambridge</B>

By David Meyer

The original founder of extended-stay hotels has launched another new brand--an upscale hotel franchise called Cambridge Suites by Candlewood--that takes the company's focus on giving travelers value and respect up to the next price point.

The new brand currently is represented by one hotel--the prototype that has been in operation in Wichita, Kan., for more than two years at the property that once was the prototype for Residence Inn. The company now has begun to build the brand through franchising.

The Cambridge brand adds to the features, comfort and amenities familiar to Candlewood Suites guests, including free laundry facilities and local phone calls; a 350-sq.-ft. kitchen, with a full-size refrigerator and microwave; low-cost long distance; two phone lines; free video and CD library; and use of the honor system-based Candlewood Cupboard food and sundries pantry.

Cambridge Suites will add complimentary continental breakfast, recreational facilities, some meetings space and a hospitality area.

Candlewood Hotel Co. chairman and CEO Jack DeBoer, who founded Residence Inn and co-founded Summerfield Suites in the 1970s and 1980s, founded Candlewood in 1995. DeBoer said his orientation was toward "cutting cost to pass through to the guest."

He added that the success of the extended-stay brands he has introduced prove that "the industry is not overbuilt, it is underdemolished. The older product cannot compete with the new products."

Cambridge Suites will convert older products into new ones, Candlewood president and COO Jim Roos said. The new brand evolved, in part, from hoteliers interested in converting existing properties into Candlewood Suites.

"While the options presented were not viable plans for Candlewood Suites--all of which have been new construction--some candidates fit the new concept perfectly," he said. "Where new construction is not an option, but a conversion is, Cambridge Suites allows for flexibility in adapting existing properties of various sizes and designs, while assuring quality and good value."

The 76 Candlewood Suites target midmarket business travelers and others on short- or long-term travel. "The market is continuing to grow and it is becoming value-oriented as never before," DeBoer said. "At Candlewood, we have the highest guest satisfaction level--we have the best room that the industry can offer. Meanwhile, so many hoteliers want to change the definition of ancillary income, so it now means cheat the guest.