Hotel stay longer than one week.

That’s clear and short enough so we will use this definition.

Extended stay is a phenomenon that started first in the 19th century when people who traveled wanted to stay longer in a place. In its development, extended stay became a major business that extend the traditional lodging business provided by conventional hotels. Extended stay business opens a new niche in the hospitality industry that allows the players to get more profit from a new kind of customers.

Marriott introduced extended stay as a commercial enterprise in the United States in 1974 by opening Residence Inn. It has grown considerably since then to many cities.

The locations of extended stay lodging in the United States tend to be in the suburban area which is different from Europe (in Europe the locations are usually in the downtown). They are located in such a way that they can be convenient to business travelers though many of the customers are actually leisure travelers.

The fact that most extended stay accomodations are located in suburban areas helps boost the extended stay business in the United States including extended stay in San Diego. The reason is because the land price is lower and that leads to lower costs and higher potential profits for extended stay businesses. This attracts many people to be in the extended stay business. Conversely, in Europe higher land prices makes extended stay business less attractive.

It was estimated that there were more than 300,000 rooms in the United States for extended stay while there were only around 180,000 rooms in 1999. Though there is no specific data, extended stay in San Diego has also enjoyed this growth.