WoodSpring Hotels launches new prototype; first Signature hotel to open this year

Wichita-based WoodSpring Hotels has launched a new brand prototype called WoodSpring Suites Signature, the company said Tuesday.

For now, the company plans to open eight Signature hotels in the greater Pittsburgh, Boston, Houston and Seattle markets, said a WoodSpring spokeswoman. The Pittsburgh area location, in Cranberry, Pa., is scheduled to open later this year, she said.

The Signature brand is being touted as a mid-priced, extended-stay hotel for travelers who usually stay weeks at a time and want higher service levels.

“Our commitment to the extended stay segment remains as high as ever,” said Bruce Haase, WoodSpring Hotels’ CEO, in a news release. “The rates for this lower mid-scale hotel will be approximately 20 percent above a standard WoodSpring Suites, typically $300 to $400 per week, market depending.”

Across the board, Haase said WoodSpring expects to break ground on more than 40 hotels in 2016, about 25 percent of which will be corporate owned, and another 50-plus next year.

The Signature locations will feature in-room dishwashers, quartz countertops and stand-up showers, the release said. The company is on track to re-brand the majority of its 200 hotels in 30 states from Value Place to WoodSpring Suites by the end of this year.

WoodSpring owns 93 hotels while providing management services for the rest.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 3:33 PM with the headline "WoodSpring Hotels launches new prototype; first Signature hotel to open this year."