Extended stay is here to stay in the Bowling Green lodging landscape.

Less than four months after David Chandler announced plans for an extended-stay SpringHill Suites by Marriott in his The Hub development along Lovers Lane, Pennsylvania-based Posh Properties has begun work on a 122-room Woodspring Suites hotel near Cumberland Trace Road and Scottsville Road.

Dirt is already moving on the $8.6 million project to build the four-story, 48,660-square-foot hotel at 175 Orange Court near the El Maguey Mexican restaurant.

The development on a 2.48-acre tract aims to fill a specific niche, explains architect Frank Malek, who is working with Posh Properties to build the hotel.

“This type of hotel attracts a different type of customer,” Malek said. “It’s geared toward longer stays. The typical customer might be a traveling nurse, a corporate trainer or people relocating to the area who need a place to stay for a few weeks.”

Malek said the demand for extended-stay hotels is on the rise, fueling the growth of Woodspring Suites, which now has nearly 300 hotels nationwide, including locations in Lexington and Louisville.

“During the (COVID-19) pandemic, there was an increased need for this type of hotel,” Malek said. “This sector has been expanding.”

Woodspring Suites, operated by Maryland-based Choice Hotels, offers rooms outfitted with kitchenettes as well as a guest laundry, fitness center and other amenities for travelers planning to stay for weeks instead of days.

Sydney Posh, a spokesperson for Posh Properties, said in an email that she believes Bowling Green is “the perfect market” for the Woodsprings product that she projects will be open in February 2024.

“We believe that our Woodspring Suites will help close a gap in the Bowling Green market, which was lacking in economy extended-stay products,” Posh said.

Extended stay is a product that’s becoming more popular in the Bowling Green market, says Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sherry Murphy.

“We definitely have extended-stay properties that we use quite often,” Murphy said. “A lot of people stay here for weeks at a time.”

The Woodspring Suites, as well as the SpringHill Suites that Chandler has in the works, will come on the heels of the December opening of the 198-room Embassy Suites Hotel in The Hub and continue the growth of Bowling Green’s lodging options.

“We have approximately 3,500 rooms now, without the two newer properties,” Murphy said. “The economy has bounced back (after the pandemic) in the hospitality industry.

“The numbers for 2022 look very good. We surpassed the numbers for 2019, which was a pleasant surprise.”

Murphy said the additional rooms are needed to accommodate growth in youth sports tournaments, a growing list of motorsports events and other local attractions.

“We have a couple of new motorsports shows,” she said, “so it (Woodspring Suites) will be a welcome addition.”