The franchise developers are Joseph H. Harman and Ron L. Lozoff, partners in SLD Properties LLC, in conjunction with SLD Houston Airport LP. Harman and Lozoff's management company, Columbia Hotel Management LLC, will manage the property.

It is the partners' second extended-stay hotel in Houston, but plans are afoot to build more, Harman tells GlobeSt.com. Harman and Lozoff also own two franchise Suburban Lodges in Atlanta and one each in Austin, Hilton Head, SC and Sarasota, FL.

The 149-room hotel has cost about $5.5 million to build and has been under construction since February 2000. The project has taken about four months longer than the average time needed to develop a Suburban Lodges franchise, according to Harman. The team's other franchise hotel is located at FM 1960 and Texas 290.

The hotel is situated on 2.93 acres. Star Construction of Albuquerque, NM has acted as general contractor for the project designed by Nashville-based Steck Architecture and Planning PC. Harman says Suburban Lodges of America Inc. provides two prototype plans, one interior corridor and one exterior corridor for franchise hotels. Harman chose the interior corridor for this project since it is a better fit for upscale, urban settings.

Harman says the average stay is seven days at his hotels. He believes the hotel's proximity to Bush International Airport and the value-to-price aspect will attract guests. He points to the construction of other hotels in the Greenspoint area as examples of the upturn in this area.

There are 122 Suburban Lodge hotels nationwide, 57 of which are franchises. Harman had helped to start the parent company in 1987, working on the first seven projects. After Suburban Lodges had gone public, he and Lozoff had formed a partnership to develop and manage Suburban Lodge franchises.

Instant Insights /

Suburban Lodge Franchisee Team Opens Second Houston Property, More to Come

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