By Emily Kahnke, Owatonna People’s Press
Extended stay hotels are becoming increasingly popular due to rooms including extra amenities akin to home. This spring, a local company will be constructing it’s first modular extended hotel in Owatonna, for Owatonna.
Local company Rise Modular is partnering with Kinseth Hospitality and Cities Edge Architecture to bring a Home2 Suites by Hilton to the west side of Owatonna near the movie theater.
While there are other modular hotels in Minnesota — mainly in the Twin Cities — this will be the first time a Minnesota company will be building a modular hotel, according to Dave Walock, COO of Rise Modular.
Leslie Kinseth, president of Kinseth Hospitality, said the company operates numerous hotels throughout the midwest. With his hometown being a few dozen miles south of Owatonna and passing through many times, he knew the city was a “good business town” with a promising market.
“The project has been in the planning phases for a couple of years,” he said. “We saw Owatonna as a good business town, and we have hotels in similar towns to Owatonna that have done very well. We believe this one will, too.”
Extended stay hotels, like the Home2 Suites, are becoming increasingly popular in both large and small cities, Kinseth said, because they have additional amenities that aren’t typically seen in a traditional hotel room such as a kitchenette with a full size fridge, dishwasher, cooking stove and more.
“People have the opportunity to eat in or go out,” Kinseth said. “Travelers will also have the opportunity and space to cook and grill outside in a community type space. There’s a similar community space in the lobby that encourages interaction between the guests and people seem to really enjoy that and all in all, the cost is about the same.”