If the new ECHO Suites Extended Stay in Spartanburg says anything about Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ view of the near future, it represents the global hospitality company’s confidence the Upstate will continue to see substantial economic growth.
During a July 10 opening of the first ECHO Suites in the country, Wyndham executives, development partners and local leaders spoke of the tremendous growth opportunity for the new concept.
Boom times
Realizing that the $1.2 trillion in federal spending created by the Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2021 is likely to drive a boom in construction nationwide, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts began devising a new extended-stay concept to meet the anticipated need, according to Wyndham president and CEO Geoff Ballotti.
He said the new ECHO concept is the fastest growing brand for the company with 270 new builds representing more than 33,000 rooms in the development pipeline.
In looking for the site of the very first iteration of the brand, the Upstate’s booming economy and multiple major development projects were a natural fit, according to Phillip Cox, co-founder of Johnson City, Tennessee-based Cox Universal Group, which developed and owns the Spartanburg location.
“Spartanburg was the 12th fastest growing county last year in the country,” Cox said.
He said Spartanburg was selected because it has more centrally located prime land available, with the necessary infrastructure, than other nearby candidates.
Major projects like the city’s new $450 million mixed-use development centered on a new minor league baseball stadium and BMW Manufacturing’s $700 million battery assembly plant being built in Woodruff are testament to the area’s economic growth prospects, Cox and Ballotti said.
Beyond those projects, the area continues to see a rapid influx of new residents needing places to live.
Cox said that while the ECHO brand is aimed mainly at workers coming to the area for big projects, he anticipates there will be increasing demand from new residents stuck in a holding pattern and needing somewhere to stay until their permanent housing is ready for move-in.
Growing demand
Demand has already grown in the few weeks the Spartanburg hotel has been open, according to Emily Crawford, corporate sales manager for Sandpiper Hospitality, which is managing the property.
The digital check-in option is especially convenient for guests who, for example, may have already worked a long day on one of BMW’s projects and want to get to their room as quickly as possible without the bother of another human interaction.
Amenities such as double-queen suites, extra storage and Wi-Fi access points in every room are must-haves for guests who will be using the space as their local home base for anywhere from a week to, in one case, seven months, Crawford said.
The rooms offer an efficient kitchenette and the largest refrigerator in the industry, according to the company.
Crawford said the rooms are designed to give guests the closest possible experience to being home, and guests frequently bring their own dishes, cookware and personal care items to bolster that sense of a home away from home.
Cox said the Spartanburg location is one of 12 his company has under development in the Southeast and that with the region’s growth he expects bookings to exceed expectations.
