InterContinental Hotels Group has launched a long-stay brand in the UK called Staybridge Suites.
The brand is aimed at business travellers staying five or more nights in one place and will be rolled out to highly concentrated business areas in major cities.
The first two will open in London - in Brentford and Southwark - at the end of 2006.
Staybridge Suites will offer spacious fully equipped one bedroom and studio suites, including a kitchen area with a cooker, fridge/freezer, dishwasher, microwave and all the necessary utensils for preparing meals.
Guests will be offered a complimentary weekly evening drinks receptions and daily afternoon cookies. There will also be a food pantry selling convenience foods, plus a grocery shopping service. Additional services include a continental breakfast, fitness centre and guest laundry room.
Suites are designed to be like a 'home from home' with wooden flooring and furniture, easy chairs, DVD and CD players and flat screen TVs.
Richard Hartman, the group's managing director of the Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "From our experience in the hotel industry, we know that long staying business guests seek more flexibility in their accommodation needs. They do not always want to eat out and sometimes they wish to play their own choice of DVD."
