Wyndham Opens First ECHO Suites, Plots Extended Stay Growth
Washington, DC
Wyndham Opens First ECHO Suites, Plots Extended Stay Growth
Washington, DC
Hotel Dive:
Nearly two years after launching extended stay brand Echo Suites, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has opened its first hotel in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Nearby infrastructure projects and population growth are poised to generate long-term demand, making it a highly desirable inaugural location for the extended stay brand, Wyndham detailed in a Thursday release.
“Historic infrastructure investments” across the U.S. are expected to drive a multibillion-dollar room revenue opportunity for Wyndham franchisees, the company said. Wyndham is among a slew of competitors with significant growth plans in what it calls a “white-hot” extended stay segment.
Hotel Dive chatted with Jim Darter, CEO of hotel management company Sandpiper Hospitality, which is managing the inaugural Echo Suites, about what sets the brand apart.
The first Echo Suites
Echo Suites Spartanburg features the extended stay brand’s purpose-built, new-construction, 124-room prototype. Richmond, Virginia-based Sandpiper Hospitality will manage the hotel for property owner Mitch Cox Companies, the management company announced on LinkedIn.
Rooms at the hotel consist of single- and two-queen studio suites with kitchens. The property also features “efficiently-designed public spaces,” including 24-hour guest laundry, meant to help limit labor needs, according to Wyndham.
Beyond the “value and the efficiency of the rooms,” one thing that sets the property apart is its technology, including mobile check-in and digital keys, Darter told Hotel Dive.
“The technology for a hotel that’s in this [chain] scale is phenomenal, and it’s what many guests are used to getting at full-service, larger hotels,” Darter said, adding that the on-property tech is “going to set us apart against some competition that isn’t very technologically advanced.”
Value opportunities for franchisees
Comprising 50,000 square feet, the Echo Suites prototype is designed to offer 79% of revenue-generating square footage, Wyndham said.
Another revenue opportunity for Wyndham franchisees — to the tune of $3.3 billion nationwide — lies in ongoing infrastructure projects driving significant demand for extended stay hotels, Wyndham said. The historic infrastructure spending is a result of the Biden Administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, passed in 2021.
The bill has led to projects that are “creating a tailwind for [...] the everyday business traveler, particularly construction and other trade workers, many of whom are in need of long-term accommodations as they travel to job sites across the country,” according to Wyndham.
About Sandpiper
Based in Richmond, Va., Sandpiper, LLC is a nationally-focused real-estate investment organization recognized as one of the leading companies specializing in extended stay lodging properties. The company continues to develop its portfolio through ground-up development and selective acquisition of performing and non-performing properties. Sandpiper owns a total of 39 hotels under the Candlewood Suites (IHG), Courtyard (Marriott), ECHO Suites (Wyndham), Premier Suites (Extended Stay America), Residence Inn (Marriott), RiseWell Kitchen Suites (Sandpiper), Suburban Studios (Choice), and WoodSpring Suites (Choice) brands.
Sandpiper Hospitality ("SH"), an affiliated hotel management company, manages the entire Sandpiper portfolio and manages 30+ more hotels for unaffiliated third parties. SH has earned its position as the leading operator in the extended stay hotel segment of hospitality by combining the spirit of genuine, welcoming hospitality with superior financial returns, fueling the growth and prosperity of its various stakeholders – from associates to guests to owners and investors. For more information, visit www.sandpiperhospitality.com.
