Dive Brief:
- BWH Hotels has opened the first U.S. property under its @HOME by Best Western midscale extended stay brand in St. George, Utah, the hotel company announced Tuesday.
- The new-build hotel, developed in partnership with Utah-based Prime Hospitality, offers 92 apartment-style studio units with amenities such as kitchens and designated workspaces. The property also features shared community spaces, including a pool and a fitness center.
- The opening, following BWH Hotels’ launch of @HOME in 2022, marks “a significant step in our strategy to grow our modern extended-stay portfolio,” Brad LeBlanc, senior vice president and chief development officer at BWH Hotels, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
This first U.S. location, following a recent @HOME opening in Walkerton, Ontario, “reflects the rising demand for well-designed, long-term accommodations that combine comfort and flexibility and deliver the kind of practical spaces travelers now look for across every stay type,” LeBlanc said.
Growing demand in St. George, in particular, is fueled by major medical facility Intermountain Health as well as the market’s access to nearby national parks, according to BWH Hotels.
The hotel company plans to expand @HOME to “important destinations,” with properties developed alongside “trusted partners” like Prime Hospitality, LeBlanc said. The St. George hotel represents the fourth property partnership between BWH Hotels and Prime.
A forthcoming @HOME location is expected to debut later this year near Atlanta, BWH Hotels announced in the same release. The brand’s global pipeline is projected to reach 34 hotels, for a total of 2,791 rooms, by the end of this year, as travelers increasingly seek apartment-style accommodations with hotel conveniences, per BWH Hotels.
The North American region, in particular, “remains a core growth engine” for BWH Hotels, “supported by concentrated demand for core brands and @Home by Best Western and bolstered by consistent contributions from soft brand collections as developers lean into flexible formats across hotel segments,” the hotel company detailed in a January release.
Other hotel players eyeing growth in the extended stay segment include Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Choice Hotels International and Hilton, which launched an apartment-style hotel collection brand earlier this year.
BWH Hotels is also currently expanding its luxury portfolio, last week launching a new collection of upscale outdoors-focused accommodations called WorldHotels Backdrop. The brand includes Zion Wildflower Resort in Virgin, Utah, which is another collaboration between BWH Hotels and Prime Hospitality.
