Extended stay hotels are not doing a good job of figuring out how to break into a wider audience of clientele. They offer amenities that other hotels do not, such as kitchenettes. This could be really useful for a lot of different groups such as young families and business people who are trying to save money while traveling. Once people stay at extended stay hotels, they usually enjoy it and come back. But they have to get there initially.

I have been on the road for more than 2 years, with a high percent of those hotels being extended stay hotels (specifically Extended Stay American and, right now, Extended Stay Canada). I must say that the ability to have a "real" kitchen (with a real counter, stovetop, microwave, cabinets and refrigerator (oftentimes a full-sized refrigerator) is very convenient. Heck - even if you are staying for only a couple days, it is nice to have a place to make your own coffee, and store your cream and restaurant left-overs.

And, if you are staying as a tourist, it is often nice to buy the local food products (perhaps from the local farmers market), make your own meal, and relax in your hotel room after a long day of tourist stops.

In fact, a room without, minimally, a fridge and microwave can make my stay almost unbearable. However, major hotel searching sites like Priceline and Expedia don't even let you filter by a fridge or microwave - let alone a kitchenette. Certainly, these amenities have much more appeal than, say, a free newspaper!

Adding these amenities to the hotel search sites' filter lists could easily be a good first step towards gaining awareness of the benefits of extended stay hotels.

Read the full article here:
How Extended Stay Properties Struggle for Consumer Awareness – Skift