Dive Brief:
- Apartment-style accommodations provider StayApt Suites signed a franchise agreement with developer Destiny Partners to bring five new hotels to Pennsylvania, according to a Thursday release.
- The hotels, in Lancaster, Reading, York, Bethlehem and Allentown, will offer extended stay accommodations with a full-sized kitchen, dedicated living room and a separate bedroom. Construction will begin on the first, 94-unit hotel in Lancaster this spring.
- On the heels of another five-hotel franchise deal earlier this week, the agreement with Destiny Partners expands StayApt Suites’ pipeline as the company grows nationwide to meet untapped apartment-style accommodations demand.
Dive Insight:
The franchise agreement not only strengthens StayApt Suites’ national presence but also expands the brand’s footprint further north into Pennsylvania, according to CEO Gary DeLapp.
“These new locations will provide travelers with the distinct comfort of a full-size living space [...] offering the consistency of a hotel with the livability of an apartment,” DeLapp said in a statement.
The agreement comes as “traveler and guest preferences are shifting toward accommodations that feel more like home, especially for longer stays,” Morgan Sickles, executive vice president of strategic finance and corporate development at StayApt Suites, told Hotel Dive.
The apartment-style model is most in demand in markets where guests seek extended accommodations with “a more residential, home-like feel,” Sickles noted. This demand is particularly present in areas with a high concentration of healthcare, education, infrastructure, government and military activity, he said.
This evolving demand has led StayApt Suites to accelerate its growth plans, Sickles noted. The brand is “targeting white space opportunities and expanding into markets that value higher-margin operations and flexible, guest-centric design,” he said.
StayApt Suites is presently targeting markets in Sun Belt states, where demand for larger prototypes of 94 operating units or more continues to grow, Sickles said.
“As franchisee interest rises, these high-growth regions offer strategic opportunities to expand the brand's footprint while aligning with strong demographic and economic trends,” he added.
Earlier this week, StayApt Suites added five hotels across key Midwestern markets to its pipeline through a separate franchise agreement. The company is slated to have 40 open hotels by April.
Other hospitality players expanding in apartment-style accommodations include Marriott International, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Mint House.
