Staybridge Suites® Celebrates its Tenth Anniversary with Robust Development Pipeline (United States)
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Staybridge Suites® Celebrates its Tenth Anniversary with Robust Development Pipeline (United States)
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands - United States - Industry economy -
Trends / Expert's advice
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2008-12-05
IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group®) [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] upscale extended-stay hotel brand, Staybridge Suites® celebrates its tenth anniversary this week with 142 hotels open and a robust global pipeline of 178 hotels under construction or approved for development. To commemorate the ten-year milestone, a press event was held today at the first Staybridge Suites hotel in Alpharetta, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta.
On Dec. 6, 1998, IHG, then Bass Hotels & Resorts opened its first Staybridge Suites hotel to fulfill the needs of the business traveler who spends weeks and months at a time on the road. Today, Staybridge Suites is the fastest-growing hotel brand in its segment.
“In 2007, Staybridge Suites reached its 100th hotel opening faster than any other brand in the upscale extended-stay hotel segment,” said Robert Radomski, vice president, Brand Management, Extended-Stay Brands, IHG. “Less than two years later, we’re celebrating our ten-year anniversary with an additional 42 hotels open; almost half of what we opened over the course of our first eight years. Part of a resilient hotel segment even in today’s economy, we expect to double in size over the next few years as the development pipeline opens,” he added.
Staybridge Suites has celebrated many accomplishments since the brand was established in 1998:
• Reached its 50th, 75th and 100th hotel openings faster than any other upscale extended-stay hotel brand
• Introduced the hotel industry’s first branded extended-stay properties to Europe and the Middle East
• Recognized by Market Metrix several times for superiority in customer satisfaction
• Was first in its category to offer free wireless Internet access at every hotel
• Introduced the industry’s first-of-its kind Just Like Home Theater
• First in the upscale extended-stay segment to introduce energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs as a brand standard
“Launching the Staybridge Suites brand was a true victory for IHG,” said Radomski. “Not only did the brand succeed in distribution growth, revenue performance and segment-firsts over the past ten years, it succeeded in what is perhaps the most important thing of all--guests asking us to ‘build more’ through feedback surveys year after year.”
Most of this feedback was based on the brand’s comfortable, home-like surroundings and interaction offered by the hotels’ staff. Staybridge Suites continues to encourage guest interaction by fostering a sense of residential community among long-stay guests. The Outdoor Living Room and Gathering Table are some of the latest brand hallmarks that serve as places for guests to socialize during their stay. To commemorate the ten-year milestone, and honor its position as the “first,” the Staybridge Suites Alpharetta-Northpoint will now feature:
• The first-of-its-kind Outdoor Living Room complete with an open, landscaped garden and trellis, comfortable all-weather outdoor living room furniture, fire pit and a 42-inch high-definition outdoor television
• A Gathering Table which mimics the kitchen island in the most popular room in the home for entertaining
• Upgrades in the common area including pendant lighting, stone wall accents, a new buffet area and peninsula tables with multiple flat screen televisions
The original Staybridge Suites hotel is managed by InterContinental Hotels Group Resources, Inc. on behalf of HPT TRS IHG-1, Inc., an affiliate of Hospitality Properties Trust. The property is located at 3980 Northpoint Pkwy., Alpharetta, Ga.
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