Two Brands In One Bldg.: Double Occupancy Redefined

<B>Two Brands In One Bldg.: Double Occupancy Redefined</B>

By Bruce Serlen

A novel segmented economy class lodging experiment will occur next month when a new business hotel--or more precisely, two business hotels--open in one building in the Philadelphia suburb of King of Prussia, Pa.

While the two hotel brands complement each other, each is a different lodging product and targets a different type of traveler. One wing of the L-shaped building will house a MainStay Suites with 69 suites, while the other wing will contain a Sleep Inn with 79 standard guest rooms.

"The two hotels will share some facilities including a common area for checkin, but otherwise they are distinct entities," said Paul Sterbini, senior director of franchise development for Choice Hotels, which manages the MainStay Suites and Sleep Inn brands. "When we began the development process, there were compelling reasons to proceed this way. In fact, the two brands seemed far enough apart on the spectrum to eliminate any confusion in the traveler's mind."

As with any hotel, travel buyers and business travelers will choose the hotel that makes the most sense, based on the specific situation. "The Sleep Inn with its standard room would be the logical choice for the brief, transient stay, while the MainStay Suites would be the best choice for that same traveler's extended stay," said Tracy Kundey, vice president of operations for the project's developer, Hersha Hospitality Management LP.

For Sterbini, the concept is a recognition that business travelers find themselves in the same location--and in need of lodging--for different reasons at different times. "When you're on a long-term training assignment, for example, the extended-stay property makes the most sense," he said. "But then you're back in the area, say, to pay a short visit to a client or supplier and the traditional hotel makes the most sense."

For travel buyers whose preferred hotel program includes Choice Hotels overall, it wouldn't be an issue if travelers booked one of the brands or the other. If, however, the approved hotel list includes only one of the brands, it must be communicated clearly to travelers.

From a construction point of view, building one structure rather than two means considerable savings. "The alternative was building two separate structures, which in terms of site specifications made much less sense," said Sterbini. Plus, there are numerous operational economies from being under one roof, such as the common front desk and other shared facilities.

"You'd want to take steps to minimize any possible confusion, considering that the first contact the traveler will have on arriving is the shared front desk," said Jack Corgel, Ph.D., managing director of applied research in the hospitality research group at PKF Consulting.

According to Karen Rubin, senior vice president at HVS International, a hospitality consulting firm, there was a trend in the late 1980s where a developer would build two different hotels on adjacent sites. "But this is a variation on that scenario that is considerably more complicated," she said, "because of the skill that will be needed to manage the room inventory effectively." Neither PKF nor HVS was involved in the Choice project.

Sterbini expects the Sleep Inn guest to be more of an "impulse buy," which would not be the case with the typical MainStay Suites guest. Room rates at the suite property are higher than at the standard room property.

Like many extended-stay properties, however, the MainStay Suites will take reservations for as short a stay as one night. The incentive though is that the longer the stay, the lower the rate. The average length of stay at MainStay Suites nationwide is 40 days. The average length of stay at a Sleep Inn, by contrast, is 1.4 days.

Each brand has its own separate centralized reservations number. "It's going to be like running a single 150-room hotel with two reservations centers fueling it," said Kundey.

At the common front desk, MainStay Suites guests can check in using an automated kiosk or they can get assistance from front desk clerks, which is how Sleep Inn guests check in.

Rubin noted that there will be ample opportunity to upsell to the traveler who has booked a standard room and then decides to upgrade to the suite property. "By contrast, travelers who booked a suite are less likely to downgrade to a traditional room," she said.

According to Sterbini, signage on the outside of the building clearly will indicate the two brands and signage in the common area will direct travelers to the correct wing.

Other shared facilities include a business center, exercise room, indoor pool, library, laundry area and outdoor picnic area. Like other MainStay Suites properties, suites here include fully equipped kitchens. MainStay&shy;but not Sleep Inn--also offers guests complimentary continental breakfast on weekdays and occasional evening receptions. Suites are of two varieties: one with a separate bedroom and one studio suite. Each variety comes with a sleeper couch.

"A challenge will be keeping the different brands' amenities suitably separate and apart, so that short-term guests aren't being exposed to the amenities being provided to their extended stay guests," said Rubin.

MainStay Suites has 29 hotels open and 21 under development, representing approximately 4,400 rooms. Sleep Inn, by contrast, is considerably larger with 228 presently open and another 156 under development, representing nearly 30,000 rooms. Complicating the standard room/suite distinction further, Sleep Inn also has a suites product called Sleep Inn Suites.