Choice Hotels Controls 50% of Extended Stay New Builds: What That Means
No Vacancy Live and No Vacancy News
Release Date: 05/08/2026
India's Hotel Boom Is Bigger Than You Think
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Something enormous is happening with hotels in India, and I don't think enough people realize the scale of it yet. I brought Bruce Ford, SVP of Lodging Econometrics, back to No Vacancy because the numbers coming out of #India are pretty staggering, but the real story goes much deeper than the size of the pipeline. Global hotel companies are making major moves across the country, investment is accelerating, and Bruce sees development spreading into markets that barely register on most people's radar today. And this isn't simply another #HotelDevelopment boom. Bruce explains why this cycle looks...
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FNA 218: Red Roof, Red Jackets & Really Bad Advice
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Friday Night Audit gives hotel company presidents a dangerous combination: cocktails, bad ideas and three people absolutely convinced they know how to run the business better. Red Roof President Zack Gharib made the mistake of joining us this week. We insisted our advice was genius. Zack knew better. Between drinks, Craig Sullivan started designing a red-jacket tradition for Red Roof, Suzanne Bagnera battled technical problems, I kept one eye on a pork butt creeping toward 205 degrees, and Zack kept the whole thing moving despite the rest of us. Then we reached the Final Four of the Friday...
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Why This 14-Room Fantasy Hotel Gets Millions of Views
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What happens when you build a hotel around elves, orcs, fairies and leprechauns — and commit fully to the idea? Ancient Lore Village has just 14 rooms, yet some of its social videos draw millions of views, including one that topped 25 million. Now CEO Melissa Blattner is taking the concept much further. I spoke with Melissa about why immersive storytelling connects so strongly with guests and what separates a real experience from something a hotel simply calls an “experience.” Plenty of hotels deliver perfectly good stays. Far fewer create something guests remember, talk about and share....
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The Dirty Dancing Hotel Lost Its Lake. Here’s What Happened Next
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What if the biggest problem at your hotel isn’t what you’re missing? Heidi Stone knows that trap well. She took over Mountain Lake Lodge — the Virginia resort made famous by Dirty Dancing — when the lake had dried up and the property had plenty working against it. Her answer wasn’t to obsess over everything that was wrong. That mindset changed the property, and it shapes how she looks at independent hotels today. If you own or operate a hotel, there’s a very good chance you’re spending time and money fixing the wrong things. Heidi explains where she’d look first — and why...
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Why Hotel Companies Are Betting Big on Asia Pacific
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Some of the biggest hotel construction opportunities in the world right now are taking shape across Asia Pacific — and India is accelerating fast. I spoke with Lodging Econometrics’ Bruce Ford about where hotel companies are placing their bets next. India’s hotel pipeline nearly tripled over the past three years, and Bruce expects a construction wave there for the next five to seven years. China brings a different story, with huge numbers of rooms opening, major renovation activity and development patterns that look very different from what we typically see in the U.S. If you want to...
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SBA Hotel Loans Just Got Bigger: How Owners Access Up to $10 Million
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What if the SBA’s $5 million hotel loan limit doesn’t actually limit you to $5 million? At LendingCon, SBA Regional Administrator Tyler Teresa explained how hotel owners now use the 7(a) and 504 programs together for as much as $10 million in total financing. Congress never raised the $5 million limit. The SBA found another route. Then Tyler dropped another number every hotel buyer should hear: 15%. Under the 504 program, hotel buyers contribute 15% toward the deal. Tyler also took me through an $8 million hotel acquisition and showed exactly where the 7(a) and 504 pieces fit. I spend...
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Hotel Deals Are Moving Again. Here’s What’s Driving Them
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Waiting for “uncertainty” to disappear before making your next hotel deal? Dan Lesser has a technical term for that: a cop-out. I caught up with the LW Hospitality Advisors president and CEO at LendingCon 2026, and Dan sees considerably more activity in the hotel market than all the hand-wringing might suggest. He says the first half of the year has been phenomenal, people continue to travel, substantial hotel transactions are getting done and there’s money available for acquisitions, refinancing and construction when the economics work. Then we got into what could drive even more deals....
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FNA 217: Belon Our Wildest Dreams
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Staypineapple Hotels President Dina Belon joined us for Friday Night Audit, and within minutes we were talking about underground printer-paper markets, retired Peabody ducks and why her early Google results once featured photos from the Playboy Club. So, pretty much a standard Friday Night Audit. Craig Sullivan and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera were along for the ride, while I broadcast from EPCOT, questioned ducks about their employment history and went five-for-five on a Phish quiz. After more than 200 shows, I would've been embarrassed if I missed one. Dina also had plenty to say about what...
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Why Hotel Investors Keep Choosing Conversions
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During LendingCon 2026, Glenn Haussman asks Red Roof’s Lina Patel why conversions now account for roughly 80% of the company’s hotels this year. Lina also explains how Red Roof’s RIDE initiative has helped 40 people become hotel owners and why the company sees more room to grow that number. Watch the conversation to hear what Red Roof sees happening in the hotel deal market right now. #NoVacancyNews #RedRoof #LendingCon Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.
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Why LivAway Makes Extended-Stay Rooms 20% Bigger
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LivAway Suites made a bold choice: give long-term guests more room and still protect the economics behind the hotel. The company builds rooms about 20% larger than typical economy extended-stay rooms, places the kitchen at the center of the space and adds features that matter when someone lives in a hotel for weeks at a time. Fast Wi-Fi, better sound control, package lockers, useful storage and stronger ventilation all play a role. I spoke with LivAway Suites CEO Mike Nielson with Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera about how LivAway makes that model work. Mike explains how the company controls...
info_outlineMatt McElhare, Vice President & Segment Lead, Extended Stay at Choice Hotels International, says extended stay leads new hotel development right now, while conversions let owners move faster than new builds.
I talked with Matt in Las Vegas about what Choice has in the pipeline, why conversions matter right now, and why he thinks extended stay still has a long runway.
🏗️ 2026 milestones: Choice expects the 600th extended stay to debut, the 300th WoodSpring Suites, and the 30th Everhome Suites
🏨 Choice share: Matt says Choice flags 50% of extended stay hotels under construction (WoodSpring + Everhome)
⏱️ Conversion window: roughly 3–6 months (sometimes faster) vs 18–24 months for new construction
🔄 Suburban Studios conversion strategy: convert 100+ key transient boxes into extended stay
âś… Progress marker: Choice crossed 20 Suburban Studios transformations, with 30 more in the pipeline
đź“Ť Everhome pipeline includes Las Vegas-area sites: Henderson and north of Vegas near the base
Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might’ve missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.