Hotel developer Jack Deboer is planning 3 new hotels.....Value Place Extended Stay Hotels, in the metro area. If you don't remember Deboer, he put a bid for the Skirvin, to turn it into a Candlewood Suites. Locations will include: I-40 in Del City, I-240 and Sunnylane, and I-44 and Hefner Parkway (wonder will this one will be......I'm guessing he'll be building it on the west side of that junction, possibly where Nuhoma and Arcadian Inn are located now, or across 39th Street.

Although it won't be an upscale chain, at least it's a different chain in the city.
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Anyways, here's the story:

"New hotel brand building three in OKC
by Ted Streuli
The Journal Record
9/8/2004

They're not apartment buildings, but they're not exactly hotels, either. Oklahoma City is about to get three Value Place extended-stay lodging facilities, the newest brand to spring from longtime hotel developer Jack DeBoer.
The 73-year-old Wichita hotel baron is widely credited as the father of the extended-stay hotel concept, an idea he brought to market in 1975 when he created Residence Inn. DeBoer also launched Summerfield Suites, Candlewood Suites and the Candlewood franchise brand, Cambridge Suites. By 1987, DeBoer had built more than 100 Residence Inns and sold the chain to Marriott. He sold the Cambridge brand and franchisor license to InterContinental Hotels Group last year for $15 million and sold 12 of the hotels for $90 million.

Now, he's at it again. And Oklahoma City will be one of the first cities in the country to get DeBoer's latest venture. DeBoer's company, Consolidated Residential, was a runner-up last year when the city was looking for someone to renovate the historic Skirvin Hotel, but that didn't stop him from panning for corporate gold here.

The first of three Value Place hotels is under construction near Interstate 40 and Scott in Del City and the company closed an $85,000 land purchase Aug. 27 where DeBoer will break ground on a second Value Place at Interstate 240 and Sunny Lane. Negotiations are under way for a third site near Interstate 44 and Hefner Parkway.

While Castlewood was a scaled-down Residence Inn, Value Place aims to fill a niche several rungs below.

"A lot of the competition is at a price point that's significantly higher than us," said Kevin Stuckey, who handles development for the company.

Value Place hotels offer two options: a 270-square-foot motel room that rents for $149 per week and a larger version with a price tag of $179 per week. Both rooms have full kitchens with refrigerators, microwave ovens, cook tops and cabinets. The minimum stay is one week.

Building costs are scrutinized; the standard 104-room, four-story design has a land and construction budget of $3.5 million. Costs are further kept in check by minimizing landscaping and operating with a staff that's the equivalent of just four full-time employees. The front desk is manned only during typical business hours and housekeepers - who are paid by the room rather than the hour - drop by every other week.

"Studio 6 is a good competitor," Stuckey said. "In Town Suites up in Edmond is a direct competitor."

Value Place will differentiate itself with a design that offers interior entrances, making the facility feel more like an apartment or hotel than a cut-rate roadside inn.

"The interior corridor in the price range is a major point," Stuckey said. "And we are absolutely nuts on keeping things clean. In a lot of low-price-point products that's a missing element."

The first Value Place opened in Wichita in October and occupancy rates have been steady at 90 percent or more. A second Value Place opened in that city about six weeks ago, another is under construction in Lubbock, Texas, and the first franchisee will start building this month in Bentonville, Ark.

DeBoer told a hotel trade magazine that Value Place planned no consumer advertising to fill its beds.

"At Candlewood, we spent $12 million a year putting heads in beds through direct sales," DeBoer told Hotel and Motel Management Magazine. "An efficient brand today has 1,000 properties. The cost of delivering heads in beds is too high unless you're at that level."

The company plans to build 24 Value Place properties per year, targeting small business owners who travel, construction companies that need temporary crew accommodations and individuals who need a place to live while looking for a home or while their house is being repaired.

The first Oklahoma City Value Place is expected to open early next year."