If you’re between residences, traveling for work or planning to visit family in the Richmond area over the next few months, there will be a new extended stay lodging option to consider when making your plans.
Richmond BizSense reported Value Place will open in Colonial Heights within the next few weeks. The local franchise is owned by Carter Rise, who is also owner of Sandpiper LLC — an apartment company with properties in Harrisonburg. “With Fort Lee and all the growth in Colonial Heights, we saw a need for an affordable extended stay alternative,” said Rise, who lives in Richmond.
Rise hopes to draw military contractors who need temporary housing, as well as people moving to the area in need of a place to live while they look for permanent housing. The Colonial Heights location is the second one for Rise, as he opened his first Value Place in Chesapeake at the end of September. That location is doing well, he said, and is attracting a mix of military contractors, business travelers and people in between homes. Rise said the chain is growing in a down economy because of the price point. Rates at his new location will be $229 per week, with a one-week minimum stay. The hotel’s rates are between $159 and $359 nationwide. The average length of stay is 90 days, according to the company. “It is a high-level value at an attractive price point,” said Rise. “And you’ve got a kitchen in the room, so there is further savings in that.”
The business model of Value Place allows it to keep prices low by cutting out amenities. There is no free breakfast, and daily linen service costs extra. It also operates on a lean staff; Rise plans to hire between six and 10 employees to run the 124-room property. Rise plans to open additional locations in the area, most likely in the West End, Midlothian and near the I-95 corridor north of Richmond, but it won’t be until credit loosens up, he said.
Gina McKee, Value Place’s vice president of franchise development, said that in addition to Rise’s four planned locations, McKee said the company is looking for additional franchisees to develop two more locations in the area.
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