hospitalitystyle.com

(May 2009) posted on Wed May 20, 2009 EDT

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Embassy Suites Hotels is rolling out its first one-room suite, designed to appeal to both cost-conscious travelers and hotel developers. This new suite concept is the chain's first major room design change since its launch 25 years ago.

The new rooms (designed by Seattle-based Callison) have about 370 square feet, which is about 20 percent smaller than the traditional Embassy Suites suite. The centerpiece of the one-room suite is a "smart wall" at the entrance that can house a variety of compartments for business documents, presentations, or a photo from home and also includes a niche for unique local art.

"While families love all the space they get with a two-room suite, a portion of our guests -- mainly business travelers -- have told us they don't necessarily need all that space," said Jim Holthouser, global head of full-service brands at parent company Hilton Hotels Corp. "We've been testing this concept for a while now, and business travelers have been an integral part of the design process. We think we've successfully preserved the spacious feel of the suite, while reducing the suite's footprint."

Hilton says the new design should also appeal to hotel developers. At new Embassy Suites hotels, developers will be allowed to allocate up to 20 percent of the guestrooms as one-room suites, which will result in lower construction costs. The new suite design also lends itself to future growth, with more Embassy Suites Hotels being built in suburban office parks, downtown urban locations, adaptive reuse projects and the brand's smaller 150-suite prototype.

The first Embassy Suites with the one-room suite design is slated to open this summer in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., in a converted federal office building. The new prototype room will begin appearing in new-build Embassy Suites Hotels during late 2009 and through 2010.