Originally Posted by
Muerz
If memory serves right, a large pension trust or REIT (I believe it was from Pennsylvania) bought the Sonesta brand a few years back and immediately converted some of its assets to the Sonestsa brands (Staybridge Suites Orlando became the first Sonesta, Intercontinental Houston converted to Sonesta and so on.)
I suspect that some more franchise contracts have now come to an end and the owner decided to turn them over to the in-house brand instead of paying a premium fee to retain the Marriott branding. I suspect we might see some more of the older (appartment-style with exterior corridor) Residence Inns are going to disappear over time as has happened with the first wave of Fairfield Inns (some of which converted to Ramada about 10 years back) in the past.
Can you name those properties that have converted?
That's basically it. I just did some quick Googling.
RMR Group, located in Newton, Mass., manages
Hospitality Properties Trust and owns
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (among other things).
According to the Hospitality Properties Trust website, "Hospitality Properties Trust is a lodging and travel center real estate investment trust, or REIT. As of December 31, 2015, we have invested approximately $8.6 billion in 302 hotels and 193 travel centers located in 45 states, Puerto Rico and Canada."
Hotels owned by Hospitality Properties Trust are affiliated with many different brands. Relatively few are affiliated with Sonesta.
Sonesta's extended stay brand, Sonesta ES Suites, is a new brand. When I looked at the website for this brand, it appeared that quiet a few of them were originally old-format Residence Inns, with outside entrances and two-story penthouse suites.
I would not be surprised to see more Hospitality Properties Trust properties switch to Sonesta brands, but I can also see them remaining with more established brands when that is working well.
Marriott switched its standards for new Residence Inns to buildings with elevators and interior hallways many years ago, but there are still plenty of the old ones left. I agree that they're likely to be phased out. Expectations for security and accessibility have changed.
In any case, the concerns of the OP are unwarranted. Yes, some former Residence Inns are now branded as Sonesta ES Suites, but that's not an indication that Marriott is dumping Residence Inn.