Description
Residence Inn by Marriott is a brand of extended stay hotels. The chain was launched in 1975 in Wichita, Kansas by Jack DeBoer and Robert L. Brock (the then-largest franchisee of Holiday Inn) and acquired by Marriott International on July 7, 1987. As of June 1, 2021, there were 874 Residence Inn hotels in the United States, Canada and Mexico with 107,680 rooms, plus an additional 243 hotels with 30,417 rooms in the development pipeline. The brand's slogan is "It's not a room. It's a Residence". It was the first extended-stay brand in the United States and was a key player in launching the concept of a "suite" in a hotel.
History
Historically, the usual appearance of a Residence Inn was a main building, called the "Gatehouse," which houses the front desk, a common area for meal service, an on-site coin-operated laundry, a swimming pool and exercise room and often several outbuildings similar to condo or apartment complexes. Most had exterior corridors. More recent constructions, however, have moved away from the outbuilding style and instead have a more traditional layout with all suites in the same building. The suites are much larger than traditional hotel rooms, however. They are typically around 450 square feet for a standard suite and 750 for a two-bedroom suite. Residence Inns typically feature a complimentary small hot breakfast in the morning and a complimentary reception on Monday through Wednesday evenings called "The Mix".
The first Residence Inn to bear the Marriott name was in Charlotte, North Carolina. Virginia Beach, Virginia, Daytona Beach Shores, Florida and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina have the only ocean-front Residence Inns.
In contrast to Marriott's other extended-stay brand, the low-cost TownePlace Suites, Residence Inn competes in the upscale industry segment, along with InterContinental's Staybridge Suites, Hyatt House, and Homewood Suites by Hilton.
