By james art 
After amassing a diverse range of extended stay flags over the past few years through both brand development and acquisition, Choice Hotels International is celebrating the opening of its 500th property in the popular segment.
The company broke ground on the newly opened Everhome Suites in Glendale, AZ, which represents the sixth property for the new mid-scale extended stay construction brand launching in 2020. Matt McElhar, vice president and segment leader for extended stay brands, Choice Hotels International , detailed the significance of the event.
“I think this milestone is in some ways a validation of the strategy we put in place in 2018 to really lean into the segment,” he said ACCOMMODATION.
Additionally, as of the end of the second quarter of 2024, Choice had nearly 400 hotels in the pipeline across its four extended stay brands: Everhome Suites, WoodSpring Suites, Suburban Studios and MainStay Suites. Choice has the fastest-growing portfolio of affordable extended-stay housing and leads the affordable new construction category, according to August 2024 STR Pipeline Data.
McElhare further highlighted the company’s affordable extended stay pipeline.
“Having 500 mid-scale hotels [segment] and below really gives us unparalleled scale, especially when you think about the fact that we have another 400 hotels in development. This will allow us to continue to invest in new commercial opportunities, new resources and support tools, and ways to help our developers close deals,” he said.
With the addition of Glendale, Choice now has six Everhome Suites open and more than 65 in the pipeline, including more than 20 under construction, 15 of which are expected to open in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, WoodSpring Suites — an economy extended-stay brand the company acquired in 2017 — is expected to reach the 300 milestone in the next 12-18 months, according to McElhare. The brand is on track for a record year with a forecast of 25 openings by the end of the year.
McElhare further developed the ongoing evolution of WoodSpring Suites, many of which were renovated and relocated by the Value Place economy chain. “We will be a completely transformed brand when we pass this 300-hotel milestone. It gives me such confidence because it’s about to get really competitive [extended-stay] guests and the new high-quality product is a distinguishing feature,” he said.
Choice also opened 13 MainStay Suites and Suburban Studios between January 1 and September 2024 in the Las Vegas, Nevada markets; Moreno Valley, California; and Orlando and Tampa, Florida.
The 122-room Everhome Suites Glendale was developed in partnership with Highside Companies and is managed by Superhost Hospitality. According to McElhare, who described the Everhome Suites brand as having “500 hotel potential,” it was especially fitting that this hotel would mark the event.
“We are thrilled to be able to celebrate this milestone with this brand in the most ideal market for a brand like this with tremendous growth and RevPAR potential. The hotel has only been open for four weeks and we are already sold out. I think that’s very indicative of our strategy, which is to target high-premium markets and go in first with a really good product, a strong operating partner, and let that kind of build the proof of concept for the brand,” he said.