G6 Hospitality CEO Bullish on Economy, Extended-Stay Segments

ATLANTA—When times are tough for hotel performance overall, economy-segment hotels often pull ahead of the pack to capture some business advantages.

That was the case for G6 Hospitality in 2020. CEO Rob Palleschi said occupancies at the company’s economy Motel 6 and extended-stay economy Studio 6 hotels in 2020 showed that overall, the economy segment came out of 2020 with “less bad” numbers than many of its counterparts.

“Occupancy-wise, we did well,” Palleschi said about the company’s brands in a video interview with Hotel News Now during the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference. “We’ve been leaving the lights on for truckers, construction workers and factory workers — those people who really kept the lights on for our country during COVID-19. So they stayed with us, they were with us the entire time, and our [2020] occupancies were pretty close to 2019 numbers.”

G6 owns, operates and franchises the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the U.S. and Canada. Currently Motel 6 has nearly 1,400 company-owned or franchised locations in the U.S. and Canada, and Studio 6 has nearly 150 properties in the U.S.

In the U.S., the economy segment overall notched 61% occupancy in April, surpassing April 2019 occupancy of 60.6%. Revenue per available room for economy hotels in the U.S. was $43.45 in April, still down from April 2019 levels of $45.06, according to STR, CoStar’s hotel analytics firm.

In comparison, total U.S. occupancy in April was 57.5%, according to STR.

G6’s Studio 6 extended-stay hotels also continue to perform well, Palleschi said, providing long-term lodging not only for project-based workers like those in construction, but also for people in transition as a result of the pandemic’s side effects on the economy and jobs.

“A lot of our citizens need that transitional place to stay now, between permanent residencies, and that’s where the extended-stay segment comes in,” he said. “It’s doing extremely well and I think it’s going to continue to do so.”

• Read “Resilient Extended-Stay Segment Poised for More Growth”

While staffing is the No. 1 priority for all of G6’s franchisees, Palleschi says strong interest in conversions, a robust pipeline and renewed interest in infrastructure spending will keep his company’s hotels a top choice for operators and franchisees.

Watch the video above for Palleschi’s thoughts on those topics and more.

Video was recorded on May 11, 2021, by HNN’s Stephanie Ricca.