Inside HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof: Why This Extended Stay Model Works

There's a big difference between hearing about a hotel brand and actually getting inside one with the people building and operating it. I toured a brand-new HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof in Bradenton, Florida with Hiten Patel of Dhruv Management, which operates the hotel, and Matt Hostetler, Chief Development Officer for Red Roof. HomeTowne Studios is an extended-stay brand, and this tour gives us a closer look at what makes that model work. We get into the operating efficiencies, the lower-cost structure compared with a more traditional hotel operation, and the design decisions helping owners run the property with fewer moving parts. We also look at how the prototype comes together from both sides: the operator actually running the hotel and the brand team focused on development and growth. Watch the full tour and see how HomeTowne Studios approaches extended stay from the ground up.

Last week at the My Place Hotels of America conference, I talked with Jeff Thomas, VP of Marketing, about how a smaller hotel company competes against brands with much bigger marketing budgets. Jeff says My Place started experimenting with AI back in 2022, using it to create visual content at scale, personalize marketing and improve how travelers find its hotels through ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other AI tools. His team tests aggressively, learns quickly and tracks revenue coming through AI-driven discovery. We also get into #HotelMarketing, AI search and why Jeff keeps his team focused on a clear strategy instead of chasing every new platform that pops up. Watch this one to hear how My Place uses #AI to compete more effectively across #Hospitality. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Glenn Haussman talks with Brian Quinn, Chief Development Officer at My Place Hotels, from the My Place Hotels of America conference about one of the biggest forces shaping hotel development right now: conversions. Brian explains why owners keep bringing conversion opportunities to My Place, how the company is expanding its development options, and how it protects the core My Place prototype while opening the door to more markets. They also get into guest demand, construction headwinds and why conversions are creating a bigger opportunity across extended stay. Watch to hear how My Place is approaching conversions, development growth and new opportunities for hotel owners. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Glenn Haussman talks with Sarah Dinger, EVP of Franchise Relations at My Place Hotels, from the My Place Hotels of America conference about Trend, the company's new conversion offering. Sarah explains how Trend gives owners more flexibility to adapt a property to its market while My Place keeps its original brand focused on a consistent prototype. They also talk about how Sarah supports operators, her work growing the AHLA Forward network from 200 to more than 1,000 people, and why she puts so much energy into mentorship and bringing younger people into hospitality Watch to hear how Trend expands My Place's hotel development options, where conversions fit into the company's strategy and how Sarah sees the brand growing from here. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Glenn Haussman talks with Ryan Rivett, President and CEO of My Place Hotels, at the My Place Hotels of America conference in Fort Lauderdale about how the company approaches growth in extended stay. My Place owns, operates, develops and franchises hotels, and Ryan explains how that experience shapes development decisions, franchise support and the way the company evaluates opportunities in both small communities and major metros. They also talk about the brand's growth, vertical integration and how My Place connects ownership, operations, development and franchising into one strategy. Watch to hear how My Place is thinking about #ExtendedStay growth, #HotelDevelopment and franchise expansion across   Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

The minute you get too comfortable, somebody else passes you. Gary Hernbroth, author of Twist the Familiar, joins me on No Vacancy to talk about questioning how we work, how we lead and how we build relationships. His point is simple: confidence moves you forward, but comfort turns into complacency fast. That applies to careers, #HotelLeadership, sales and pretty much every part of #Hospitality. We also get into failure and why people who fall down, learn and adjust often bring more value than people pretending they never screw up. Watch this one to challenge a few habits, rethink how you approach people and keep yourself from getting too comfortable. Gary's book, Twist the Familiar, is here: Twist the Familiar on Amazon Thanks so much to Actabl for supporting this podcast. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

One in three room nights globally comes from meetings and groups, with 60% of that demand coming from small and medium meetings. Lukasz Dabrowski, SVP of Global Supplier Relations at HRS, joins me on No Vacancy to explain where that group business is hiding and how hotels are getting better at finding it. Companies are combining transient travel, meetings, groups and extended stays to better understand their total buying power, while better data is helping hotels spot demand faster and respond before the opportunity disappears. Watch this one to see how you can uncover more group demand, respond faster and turn more of that business into #HotelRevenue. Thanks so much to Actabl for supporting this podcast. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

AI is starting to decide which hotels travelers see — and what it says about your property may not even be right. Michael Bennett, CEO of Cendyn, and Nicki Graham, CMO, join me on No Vacancy to talk about what happens when travelers start asking ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI tools where they should stay — and the information those tools return doesn't match what the hotel actually wants people to know. That's the drift problem. AI pulls from multiple sources, and once the wrong information starts showing up, hotels risk losing bookings or disappointing guests who arrive expecting something the property never promised. The opportunity here is bigger than simply fixing bad information. Hotels need to think differently about content, visibility and direct booking as search becomes more conversational. See why Michael and Nicki believe hoteliers need to take control of their story now, before AI-driven hotel search really takes off. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

We've spent months asking one completely unnecessary but surprisingly important question: Which hotel pet peeve annoys us most? We started with 32. Now Always Hidden Lamp Switches and Water Pressure Roulette fight for the last spot against Outlet Desert in the championship round. Vote now on my LinkedIn page and help decide who gets there. https://lnkd.in/gaKZvpxu On this week's Friday Night Audit, Craig Sullivan, Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera, PhD, CHA, CED and I track the voting in real time, argue over the bracket and treat this tournament with a level of seriousness normally reserved for actual sports. Somewhere along the way, the bracket itself becomes a pet peeve. We also go after dynamic grocery pricing, terrible buffet tongs, Gen Z slang and an upcoming lazy-river race where finishing last counts as a competitive strategy. That's hashtag#FridayNightAudit: hashtag#Hospitality, happy hour and entirely too much passion for hotel annoyances.

I'm calling it now: Relational wellness is the next major hospitality trend. The opportunity is we're spending more time with screens and less time with each other. Hospitality reverses that by bringing people back together. My proof is the Evermore Orlando Resort, purpose-built for connection. Families and friends stay together instead of scattering across separate hotel rooms, with large homes, shared kitchens, big gathering spaces, private pools and room around the table for everyone. For years, we've talked about wellness through spas, sleep, fitness and nutrition. Relational wellness expands that conversation to something people desperately need right now: connection. Here chef Vincent Cani and I talk about bringing this vision to life while my family and closest friends for decades get to reconnect. Hotels and resorts have a huge opportunity here. Create spaces bringing people together. Build food and beverage around sharing. Give families and friends reasons to put the phones down, sit around a table, talk, laugh and create memories together. Thanks to Elizabeth Mullins, President of Evermore Hospitality for awakening me to a new way to enjoy being with the people we love that deepens those bonds while creating forever memories. Watch this one with #RelationalWellness in mind. I'm convinced this is the next big #Hospitality conversation. Do you see relational wellness becoming a real hospitality category, or are we still thinking too narrowly about what wellness means? Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.