Dive Brief:

• Sonesta International Hotels Corporation opened four Sonesta Simply Suites extended stay hotels across the country this week, the hotel company announced Thursday. 
• The hotels are located in Lafayette, Louisiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Stafford, Texas; and Lansing, Illinois. The openings grow Sonesta’s Simply Suites portfolio to more than 65 hotels, all offering apartment-style guest rooms with kitchen and work spaces. 
• The openings come as competition heats up in the extended stay space, particularly in the midscale segment, with major hotel chains ramping up their extended stay pipelines. 

Dive Insight:

Sonesta opened the Simply Suites properties in four new destinations for the brand, underscoring the demand for extended stay hotel options across the country, Keith Pierce, EVP and president of franchise and development at Sonesta, said in a statement. 

The four properties have opened at a time when the extended stay category is growing faster than the broader hospitality market, Sonesta said in its announcement. 

Extended stay hotels saw a 3.2% increase in RevPAR in the second quarter year over year compared to a 2.7% increase in RevPAR for the overall industry, Sonesta said, citing hospitality industry consulting firm The Highland Group. 

Industrywide, the extended stay category has seen increased activity as travelers seek longer-term accommodations with designated living spaces and fewer amenities. 

Sonesta joins other hotel companies expanding in the space, including Marriott, which entered the midscale segment in the U.S. and Canada in June with a new extended stay brand. Hilton also launched an extended stay brand earlier this year, in the lower-midscale segment. 

Extended stay activity is happening across segments, though. Wyndham added 60 hotels to its Echo Suites economy brand pipeline in July, and Choice Hotels’ economy WoodSpring Suites opened a brand-record number of hotels in May. 

Sonesta is not only actively investing in extended stay. The hotel company’s growth is taking place across multiple brands and chain scales. The company has opened more than 20 hotels so far this year, Pierce said, including 13 hotels, or more than 1,000 rooms, in the first half of the year.