Chief Strategy Officer & Senior Vice President of Technology, CHOICE HOTELS INTL INC
Choice’s Anna Scozzafava discusses Everhome Suites
Anna Scozzafava, VP of extended stay brands, strategy and operations at Choice Hotels International, discusses the company's ...
About Anna Scozzafava
In September 2020, Anna Scozzafava, then Vice President of extended stay brands, strategy and operations at Choice Hotels International, announced the launch of Everhome Suites, the company's thirteenth brand and a mid-scale extended stay offering. She stated that the first ground breaking for the brand took place in Corona, California, and that the company had two area agreements totaling 13 deals between Austin, Texas and Los Angeles County, California. Scozzafava said the brand was designed as a 100% new construction product to fill a "white space" in the mid-scale market, and she projected the company could open at least 500 Everhome Suites hotels over the next ten years. Scozzafava attributed the launch to research showing that seven-plus-night room nights represent 20% of demand while extended stay supply accounts for only 9%, describing this as a "tremendous opportunity." She noted that Choice Hotels had tripled its extended stay footprint in the prior two years and had recently opened its 400th extended stay property. She described Everhome Suites as offering spacious apartment-style rooms with fully equipped kitchens, designed to allow guests to maintain their routines while traveling. The first Everhome Suites was expected to open in 2021 in Corona, California.
Transcript (20 segments)
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Sean McCracken0:00
Sean McCracken with Hotel News Now, here with Anna Scozzafava of Choice Hotels International. So Anna, what's the big news of the day for you guys?
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Anna Scozzafava0:19
Well, we couldn't be more excited to be here, Sean. We're launching our thirteenth brand, a mid-scale extended stay brand, named Everhome Suites. And we're actually celebrating our first groundbreaking today as well, out in Corona, California. So we couldn't be more pleased.
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Sean McCracken0:34
So what was the thinking behind this new brand?
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Anna Scozzafava0:37
Yeah, I mean, there's really three key points to keep in mind. Obviously we do extensive research before launching any new brand. But one of the main points here is that it's a mid-scale brand. Choice has over 80 years of experience and really owns this segment. Combine that with our proven extended stay operating model: we just tripled our footprint in the last two years in the extended stay segment. We know developers love this. We're fresh off the heels of our 400th opening. Combine that with the fact that we know seven-plus-night room nights are 20% of demand, and yet there's only 9% of extended stay supply, so there's a tremendous opportunity in front of us. And developers really wanted another chance to capitalize on one of the fastest growing segments within the hotel industry.
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Sean McCracken1:22
So how does this fit in with the existing extended stay brands you guys have?
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Anna Scozzafava1:27
Oh, great question. So we designed the portfolio to make sure it is well segmented. Suburban is a great conversion option. WoodSpring is a great new build option within the economy space, both in the economy space. As well as MainStay Suites in the mid-scale space offers flexibility from a conversion or new construction with dual brand properties. But WoodSpring is a brand we have over 100 of them open and in the pipeline today. So Everhome Suites is really designed to be our true 100% new construction part of the mid-scale extended stay brand.
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Sean McCracken2:03
You mentioned the first ground breaking today, which is Monday. How many deals do you guys have lined up for this?
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Anna Scozzafava2:10
Yeah, so we have two more area development agreements to date, with 13 total deals between Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles County, California.
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Sean McCracken2:20
So what's the ultimate goal for a brand like this? Is this going to be a huge scale brand or is it fitting in white spaces?
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Anna Scozzafava2:29
Yeah, so definitely it's going to be more in the mid-scale market. So we're looking for the higher of our markets, but we can see at least 500 hotels over the next 10 years easily with this brand.
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Sean McCracken2:43
So even with your current extended stay owners, you've laid out the differences. What's the pitch to them? How are you explaining this is a different product, a different space that we need to be in?
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Anna Scozzafava2:55
Yeah, so I think it's pretty clear within our economy segment. So from Suburban and WoodSpring, Everhome Suites is really designed to offer more of that mid-scale guest experience, higher service offerings and amenities. For MainStay, it's definitely designed as an upper mid-scale brand. So we really think the brands complement each other within the mid-scale space.
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Sean McCracken3:16
So if I'm a guest, what's unique?
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Anna Scozzafava3:20
Everhome Suites is really exciting. It's a fresh, modern take on extended stay. There really hasn't been another brand launch in the heart of the mid-scale segment in nearly a decade. And if you look at most of the supply out there, it's 15-plus years old within that space. So we really designed it for guests to be able to build life on their own terms while they're on that extended stay trip, with convenience, comfort, and stability. All of our guest rooms are tremendously important in the extended stay segment. Our spacious, apartment-style two types of rooms, whether it's a studio or a one-bedroom suite, they are designed with customizable spaces. People don't want to eat, work, and play all in the same space. And fully equipped kitchens with real full-size refrigerators, dishwashers, cooktops, microwave - it's really enabling the guests to maintain their routine while they're on the road.
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Sean McCracken4:16
So what about the extended stay segment right now? What cries out that you guys need to have more? Is it just a dislocation between demand and supply out there, or is there something deeper?
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Anna Scozzafava4:30
Yeah, definitely that creates tremendous room for growth when you look at that white space. And it really does fill a white space for us in terms of that new construction offering that developers are seeking. It's really the feedback from developers and consumers that they want a new, fresh product out there. Developers have been very pleased and are kind of demanding that we do something else to allow them to capitalize on this opportunity.
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Sean McCracken4:53
Anything else you want to say before we wrap up?
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Anna Scozzafava4:57
Our first Everhome Suites will be opening in 2021, just out here in Corona, California, so please stop by and take a look.
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Sean McCracken5:05
Alright, well thanks so much.
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Anna Scozzafava5:07
Thank you.