Dive Brief:
- IHG Hotels & Resorts unveiled new prototype options for its three suites brands — Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites and Atwell Suites — on Tuesday.
- The new options are intended to supplement, rather than replace, choices for hotel developers, as well as further optimize spaces.
- The design options will allow for greater flexibility for hotel developers, who are increasingly interested in the “rapidly growing suites space,” according to IHG.
Dive Insight:
The new prototypes will retain brand hallmarks that are already popular with guests, including in-room storage and kitchen space and shared food and beverage areas.
“Our new concepts reflect guest and owner feedback, and enable new and existing owners to deliver our modern suite experiences — in various forms — to more markets without compromising consistency or quality,” said Kevin Schramm, IHG’s SVP of development for mainstream brands in the U.S. and Canada, in a statement. New designs, he added, “increase owner value while offering the spaces and amenities short- and long-term travelers value most.”
The new Staybridge Suites prototype — dubbed “Smart Studio” — is designed with shorter-stay guests in mind. The design allows developers to use a slimmer room bay, a reduction from 16 to 13 feet, as well as “streamlined” kitchen equipment and fixtures.
The “Beacon 4.2” prototype for Candlewood Suites also features a slimmer room bay, down from 15 feet, 3 inches to 12 feet, 6 inches. The design builds on the brand’s most recent prototype, launched in 2019, which IHG said has seen “strong performance.” Due to greater space efficiency, Beacon 4.2 could allow developers to add up to 12 keys on a similarly sized site.
Atwell Suites options include two new lobby configurations, one with one story and the other two, while maintaining the area’s flexible work, lounge and dining spaces. The new room prototype also features a slimmer room bay — from 16 feet, 8 inches to 12 feet, 6 inches — and includes a wet bar, sofa and work desk. Like Candlewood Suites’, the room prototype could allow developers to add 12 keys to their hotel site.
IHG expects all new prototypes to be available to owners by the second quarter of this year. The first properties to feature them could open as early as 2025, the company shared. While the prototypes will only be available to hotel owners in the U.S. at first, IHG plans to roll them out later in Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Guests expect a maintained experience in the “rapidly growing suites space,” according to IHG. The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, called the trend a “rush for hotel suites,” reporting that hotel managers are increasingly fielding requests for connecting rooms and suites. Reasons for suites’ popularity include the rise of hybrid work — which allows more travelers to bring family members along on work trips — and multigenerational travel.
Atwell Suites, a suites brand IHG is currently working to grow, debuted last year in Miami and opened its first conversion hotel this month in Austin, Texas.
Other brands have also unveiled refreshed room prototypes in recent months. Last month, Extended Stay America broke ground on a property that will feature a new Select Suites prototype, also intended to maximize space efficiency.
Earlier this month, Choice Hotels International debuted a prototype for Sleep Inn that was designed to be more efficient and cost-effective. Hampton by Hilton also launched a refreshed prototype last week.
