Extended StayAmerica

Extended StayAmerica is an American hotel company. It was founded as an extended-stay hotel chain in 1995 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina in 2001.

The first Extended StayAmerica hotels opened in 1995 by a number of founders including management from Blockbuster Video and AutoNation. In 1996, Extended Stay America acquired StudioPLUS, further continuing its growth. During this time, the company also developed Crossland Economy Studios. The company also added various brands offering different levels of service, like Extended Stay Deluxe and StudioPLUS. By August 2001, the company was added to S&P 400.

Blackstone took Extended Stay America private in May 2004 to form a new company, Extended Stay Hotels. It paid close to $2 billion in cash as well as over $1 billion in debt. At the time, Extended Stay America had 425 hotels, but Blackstone added about 255 properties from other acquisitions including Homestead Village, which it agreed to buy for $600 million two months after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

In 2007 Extended Stay Hotels was sold to the Lightstone Group for $8 billion. The sale was one of the biggest non casino hotel deals in history.^{[citation needed]}

On June 16, 2009, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing $7.1 billion in assets and $7.6 billion in liabilities. The company intends to keep operating all its properties through bankruptcy by using its substantial cash flow rather than debtor-in-possession financing.

Extended StayAmerica was bought out of bankruptcy by an investment group including Blackstone Group, Paulson & Co. and Centerbridge Partners in October 2010.

External links

• Extended Stay America
• The Lightstone Group to Acquire Extended Stay Hotels from Blackstone Group for $8 Billion, Blackstone Press release