Economy hasn

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is encouraging guests to hang out in the And nearlyevery chain, it seems, is puttingh in granite countertops. Hotela are rolling out new prototypes at a time when the rough economy has made travelersespeciallh frugal. In most cases it’s a coincidence, as the chainxs started making plans before the economyturned sour. For a basicx renovation, it takes about six months to design and a year to saidBradley Richards, an architect at Baskervill, a firm in Va., that does a lot of hotel design. A rebrandiny effort could takeeven longer. Red Roof Inn begabn working on its prototype fouryears ago, the companyy said.
A design must satisfhy three clients: The chain itself, the guests and the “You’ve got to creatre something they are willingto build, that they want to said William Gullion, vice president of product design and technical services for , parent of Summerfield Suites. In Summerfield’ s case, it meant building and tearing down model rooma several times as ideaswere revised. While it’s difficult to shift gears many chains see the downturjn as a good time toposition themselves. “I think there is some push to get some of the flagxs revamped so when we start to turn outof this, they will be leaders in the Richards said.
At the same “We’re seeing some that have slowede down or stalled because they are not or they are not getting the income they need to make the renovationbmake sense,” he said. A common themew among hotel chains is finding economy withoutsacrificing style. In the case of Columbus-baseed , that meant giving up the iconicred “One of the things we needed to be very consciousx of is the building costs,” said Rob Wallace, seniore vice president of franchise relations. “We need to hit a pricd point that is not only beneficial to our but also for our The pitched roof wasrelativelty expensive, with its trusses and red shingles.
In the new the old red roof becomes a symbolicd red outline in the lobby The company calls its prototypeNext Generation, and meanz it literally. “At Red Roof Inn we have a lot ofloyall customers, but a lot of them are gettinvg older or moving on. Some could be Wallace said. “We have thought long and hard about how we attracy that next generation of people who are a little moretechnologicallt savvy. Something that is a little more hipand modern.” The changexs include wood plank flooring, Japanese blinds on the opaque glass partition walls, oversized walk-i showers and granite counter tops. Granite countertope are in vogue at othert chainsas well, including and Motel 6.
part of the New Jersey-based , rolled out a new prototype last yearthat “kind of moved the hotek up a level or so in the economy said Benny Stephens, vice president of desigjn and construction. The chain doesn’t have much space to work with, only 204 squared feet for its single-bed rooms and 276 square feet for the Size andconfiguration didn’t “It’s only decor, but it’s unbelievable how much differencre the decor can make,” Stephens said. “The room has been designed to look larger than itreall is.
” One trick was to put mirrorse along the wall behind the bed, creating the feel of more Another was to build a seat over the heatefr and air conditioner that sits in front of the The window seat gives guests an extra spot to rela x without taking up more floor space. The firsft Motel 6 prototype, dubbed Phoenix, is slated to open in Its aim is to squeeze more from the squarw footage by getting double duty from some of the A flat-screen TV hangs on an entertainment unit that also conceals a door-less wardrobe. Pedestal beds provide room to stowsuitcasez underneath.
While the square footage didn’t change, the aspect ratio did, said Greg Ammon, vice president of new constructionmfor , the Dallas-based parent company. “Our old room s were best described asa short, fat The new room is long and he said. One of the advantages is that the chaib can use a plot of landmore efficiently.