Dive Brief:
- Landingplace Hotels launched two conversion-focused midscale brands: Landingplace Suites and Landingplace Select, the Bluffton, South Carolina-based company announced Monday.
- Landingplace was co-founded last year by real estate and hospitality veterans Jeremy Bratcher and Jacob Amezcua, who are targeting urban and suburban markets with Landingplace Select and Landingplace Suites, the company’s first franchise offerings.
- In a statement, Amezcua said Landingplace aims “to give owners a financially viable way to compete in a shifting market,” particularly in areas with strong business, medical and university demand where brand saturation limits new entries.
Dive Insight:
Landingplace Suites aims to bridge the gap between extended stay hotels and furnished apartments, according to the announcement. The hotels will offer apartment-style suites as well as “locally inspired experiences,” such as food trucks, live music, community rooms and activated outdoor spaces for a “lifestyle-driven experience.”
Landingplace Select — designed for short-term, high-traffic stays — will prioritize streamlined operations through pay-per-use housekeeping and grab-and-go markets. The brand’s hotels will feature “simple, modern design and smart tech,” per Landingplace.
The brands are designed to solve the challenges hotel owners face, “from rising costs and staffing shortages to rigid brand standards and shifting guest expectations,” according to Landingplace.
Landingplace’s model includes increased distribution through long-term stays marketed on platforms like Apartments.com, locally inspired design and lifestyle programming and “cutting-edge” approaches to housekeeping and breakfast, per the announcement. The new company also claims to offer more “flexible, cost-efficient” property improvement plan standards than legacy brands.
“As owners and operators ourselves, we’ve seen firsthand how rigid, outdated hotel systems fall short for today’s guests and owners,” said Bratcher, who also serves as CEO, in a statement. “We built Landingplace to close that gap — with brands designed for flexibility, simplicity and an owner-first approach, without compromising guest comfort or performance.”
Brachter also noted that coming refinancing pressure as $5.8 billion in U.S. hotel loans are slated to mature this year, compounded by rising costs from property improvement plans and furniture, fixtures and equipment, is “making it harder for owners to stay compliant or reposition assets profitably.”
Earlier this month, Peachtree Group launched a $250 million fund designed to capitalize on hotel market dislocation as commercial real estate loans mature this year and hotels face refinancing and capital burdens. Last year, JLL projected that more hotel owners would sell than refinance as their loan maturity nears.
Landingplace did not immediately respond to a Hotel Dive request for further comment.
