New extended-stay hotels can be a suite deal for saving money

With American Express estimating that corporate hotel rates will escalate around 15 percent this year, business travelers are trolling for good budget hotel rooms -- and finding them aplenty.

"Brand-new economy hotels are going up every day," said Randy Smith, president of Smith Travel Research, a hotel consulting firm. "Some major companies are asking their travelers to downgrade to brands like Hampton, Fairfield and Comfort Inns and the newer Wingate Inns and Sleep Inns. That's where you can get the best value for your money -- at around $45 a night or sometimes as low as $30. The chains are providing some of the amenities -- TVs, dual phones, coffee makers -- that you used to find only in mid-priced hotels."

The hotel market niche that is making the biggest economy-size waves these days is for longer-term guests, such as employees in training programs, engineering projects and corporate relocations.

Among the classiest of the longer-stay hotels are Marriott International's Residence Inns. But the fastest-growing chain of this newer breed -- with a plain vanilla name -- is Extended Stay America Inc.

At $4 million to $5 million each, plus last April's acquisition of Studio Plus Hotels, the properties are found in 35 states coast to coast, totaling some 200 hotels.

Each guest room has a queen-size bed, recliner chair, computer port, free local calls and voice mail, remote TV, fax delivery, coffee maker, and tiny kitchen with stove top, microwave and refrigerator.

Rates range from about $300 to $400 a week at the Studio Plus Hotels to around $200 to $300 at Extended Stay America efficiency studios. Any of those numbers would cover roughly one night at many luxury hotels.

"Some 85 percent of the guests are business travelers," said a spokeswoman, Mariesa Capelli.

The nice twist for those on a tight budget is that many of these longer-stay chains are just as available for single nights as they are for longer periods. For example, the Monday-through-Friday rates at Extended Stay America in Akron, Ohio, are $44 daily and $209 weekly; in Torrance, Calif., $59 daily and $289 weekly.

But staffing is almost nil. "There's just a front desk, limited maid service and less turnover," Smith said. "That's where longer-stay hotels save on costs. There's no interaction with guests a lot of the time -- but then many travelers don't need that."