Choice Hotels on Extended Stay Versus Short-Term Rentals: Interview


Skift Take

Choice Hotels doesn't consider private equity entrants as competition, but as potential collaborators.

This was the year the short-term rentals  industry saw it all — the good, the bad and the ugly.  

It has been a year of tough regulations, softening demand and fierce competition. Notably, 2023 saw every major hotel company announce an extended stay brand — Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Wyndham, Best Western to name a few. 

But Choice Hotels believes it has a clear competitive advantage over its peers. It has four extended stay brands, a plan to transform traditional hotel rooms into an extended stay unit by shipping and installing a kitchen, and a franchise model that allows the company to branch out of the Choice platform.

Through franchising and acquisitions, the company has established itself as a prominent player. Last year, Choice produced record revenue of $1.4 billion and a record net income of $332.2 million.

Skift spoke to Matt McElhare, senior director of extended stay and Ron Burgett, senior vice president of fr