management industries, giving him a firsthand view of what long-term guests need and what owners require to run a property well. He is also invested in the brand through his family office, which owns two stayAPT Suites properties. He shares his thoughts on the segment.

HOTELS: Much of your career has been spent in extended-stay hospitality and residential property management. Where did you see the biggest opportunity in long-term lodging? DeLapp: I kept running into the same disconnect early on:

Extended-stay hotels were built around efficiency and residential communities were built around comfort, but almost nothing combined the two well. Long-stay guests wanted a place that felt like home. They wanted to cook and have a separate bedroom from where they worked or relaxed. The industry treated long-term guests like short-term guests who happened to stay longer, rather than building something around how people actually live. That gap felt like the real opportunity. Extended stay needed a product designed around daily life with the

discipline of a hotel operating model behind it.

HOTELS: How have the needs and expectations of long-term guests changed? DeLapp: The guest base has broadened considerably. Long-term lodging used to skew heavily toward relocation and workers supporting capital spending. Those guests are still core to the category, but, today, extended-stay guests might include a healthcare professional or a business traveler on an extended project. What they share is the need for a space that supports a normal

52 hotelsmag. com Oct / Nov 2026