Covington-based real estate developer Corporex and hotel manager Commonwealth Hotels’ newest project showcases the company’s decades-long working relationship in addition to an industry-wide shift in travelers’ amenity preferences.
In August, Corporex opened a Residence Inn by Marriott across from the Kenwood Towne Center in northeastern Cincinnati. Corporex is the developer behind the hotel, while Commonwealth will assume managerial duties.
Corporex hopes to capitalize on traffic around the Kenwood Towne Center and yearly travel into the region for the Cincinnati Open – one of the world’s premier professional tennis tournaments.
While the hotel may be in Cincinnati, its opening symbolizes the collaborative relationship between two Covington companies. Established in Covington in 1986, Commonwealth Hotels has become one of the largest hotel managers in the United States. Its portfolio is comprised of more than 50 hotels and 6,000 guestrooms. The company operates full-service and select-service properties for Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and IHG brands nationwide.
“We have multiple assets owned by Corporex that we operate throughout the country, and that relationship has been in place, really, since the inception of our organization,” Commonwealth Hotels’ President Jennifer Porter told LINK nky.
Commonwealth Hotels manages multiple hotels in Northern Kentucky, including the Courtyard and Residence Inn near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Erlanger, as well as the new Homewood Suites Hotel in Corporex’s Ovation development.
Furthermore, the company is located inside Covington River Center, which Corporex developed in the late 90s. Suzanne Deatherage, vice president of marketing at Corporex, said the companies’ working relationship has proved mutually beneficial.
“It’s just been a valuable partnership because we’re both bringing our greatest skill sets, bringing them together, and continuing to work in partnership,” she said. “That just continues to expand.”
Looking to the future, Corporex and Commonwealth are collaborating on more hotel projects featuring amenities tailored to the preferences of contemporary travelers. This includes adding more long-term stay amenities such as pet-friendly and eco-friendly accommodations and access to electric vehicle charging stations.
“Guest needs as far as traveling with your pets or the whole term of business and leisure travel combining together, where they may be on an extended vacation while they work and want more of that residence-type feel, which is where this hotel style complements that well,” Porter said.
Porter said the driving force of this trend was the COVID-19 pandemic, which effectively halted the travel industry for a period of time. As such, hotel developers sought to add more amenities that would better suit travelers utilizing the hybrid work model that’s become increasingly prevalent since the pandemic subsided.
“Business travel has changed, and it is the hybrid work environment, so it is a combination of both business and leisure,” Commonwealth’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing Barbara Willen said. “We term that as ‘bliesure’ in our world.”
The new Residence Inn by Marriott near the Kenwood Towne Center features many of these bliesure-type amenities, including access to a Condado Tacos on the hotel’s ground floor.
This trend can also be seen in Corporex’s Homewood Suites Hotel at Ovation development in Newport. Upon completion, the hotel will offer guests walkable access to amenities such as the MegaCorp Pavilion concert venue, multiple bars and restaurants, and retail shopping destinations.
“That work-life balance component, and how that all kind of comes together – I think hotels as a whole are evolving to accommodate those needs of the customer,” Porter said.