Dive Brief:
- Extended stay hotel operator LivAway Suites broke ground on a hotel in Surprise, Arizona, as part of its strategic expansion in the state, the Salt Lake City-based firm announced Tuesday.
- With the property, LivAway’s third in the greater Phoenix area, the company plans to capitalize on demand for extended stay lodging near healthcare hubs and distribution centers.
- In September, the real estate investment and development firm behind LivAway Suites, West77 Partners, announced plans to open an office in Phoenix, a market West77 President Dan Barrett said has “great potential for growth and success.” LivAway Suites intends to add more than a dozen hotels across the state in the coming years, according to Tuesday’s release.
Dive Insight:
LivAway Suites’ Surprise hotel is “strategically located” near Banner Del E Webb Medical Center; Banner Boswell Medical Center; and distribution centers for Amazon, BNSF Railway and Red Bull, aiming to be “the extended stay hotel for employees on work travel, distribution center trainees, travel nurses, and healthcare patients,” according to LivAway.
The hotel is also near spring training facilities for the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers, which draw fans, players and their families to the area.
The location is LivAway’s third in greater Phoenix, following groundbreakings in Tolleson and Glendale.
"The Greater Phoenix Area provides a myriad of reasons for travel, whether it's for leisure, work, medical, or other reasons,” Kevin Dailey, LivAway’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.
In April 2024, West77 Partners chief development officer Paul Duncan told Hotel Dive that the firm was targeting markets like Phoenix partially due to ongoing infrastructure projects in the area, including Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s $40 billion plant, that are driving demand from construction workers for longer-stay accommodations.
President Donald Trump, however, has criticized the Biden-era CHIPS and Science Act, which has created manufacturing and construction jobs driving demand and revenue opportunities for hotels in the extended stay space.
