A Kansas-based hotel chain has opened its second extended-stay hotel in Utah -- in the Ogden suburb of West Haven -- the second of seven it plans for the state.
Value Place, a company founded in Wichita, Kan., in 2002, entered the Ogden market Wednesday with a 124-room, 45,000-square-foot building on the east side of Interstate 15. The company earlier opened a comparable facility in American Fork and plans to bring a third online this spring in West Valley City. Four more will be added during the next decade, said Gina McKee, Value Place vice president of franchise development.
"The Value Place brand is gaining a foothold in Utah because consumers -- whether they are business travelers or families on vacation -- crave an economical place to stay without sacrificing quality," she said.
Weekly rates include the provision of a kitchen, towels and linens, and expanded cable network and premium movie channels. Fees are charged for extra cleaning, linen service, Internet access, dishes and other kitchen supplies, added company spokeswoman Courtney Thomas.
The new Value Place hotel is the first extended-stay facility in West Haven, a city of 6,000 people incorporated in 1991.
"Any time you get something like this it helps people in the city," said West Haven Planning Commission Chairman Phil Green, citing the need for a hotel where people can live for a week or so at a time while working with Ogden-area businesses. "We haven't had anything like that."
Value Place was founded by Jack DeBoer, who claims to be the industry's originator of extended-stay lodging through his development of the Residence Inn, Summerfield Suites and Candlewood Suites brands.
The first Value Place opened in Wichita in October of 2003. Since then, the company has opened 140 locations, some company owned, others as franchises. "The company is seeking franchisees" for its projected Utah properties, said McKee, adding that nearly 100 hotels are under construction in 15 states.
Value Place franchisees are required to invest $3.5 million to $7.3 million to develop the standard 124-unit property.
Franchisees also must use Value Place Construction Services as an advisor on an initial property and pay a royalty of 5 percent of monthly room revenues, the company said.
Based on a seven-night stay, the Value Place Web site puts the cost of a unit at:
$199 for a studio (suits one or two)
$239 for a studio sleeper (for three people)
$249 for a studio double (for family of four)
