Nov. 4--FARMINGTON -- Scheduled to open in January, the Marriott TownePlace Suites under construction on East Main Street will offer extended-stay hotel amenities unlike any available in Farmington, according to hotel operators.

The under-construction hotel is hoping to cater to the area's business travelers, the most common customer for Farmington hotels, particularly by offering larger rooms that feature full kitchens.

The kitchen amenities, available in each of the four-story hotel's 117 rooms, allow guests staying for days or several weeks an opportunity to cook for themselves and feel a little more at home while traveling in Farmington, said Greg Anesi, of Farmington, the hotel's majority owner.

"It just has more of a home feeling," said Anesi, who also owns a share in the Farmington Courtyard by Marriott and the Durango Marriott Residence Inn.

Recognizing the new hotel would have a different approach to hosting extended-stay visitors, the East Main Street location on the eastern side of town is ideal because of its walking distance to a grocery store, several popular restaurants, the mall and other shopping centers, allowing guests easy access to food and area services located away from Farmington's established hotel corridor, Anesi said.

Before opening Jan. 18, the TownePlace Suites intends to hire as many as 35 new employees, a majority of whom will be needed for full-time jobs, hotel general manager Donna Mills said.

"That (hiring) will come a few weeks

down the road when we get a little closer to our opening," Mills said. "We're taking applications for every position right now."

An average 63 percent of all hotel rooms in Farmington were occupied through the month of September, a decline from the average 79 percent of Farmington rooms occupied a year earlier, according to the monthly Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.

The extended-stay hotel first was planned in 2006, when the Farmington economy was extremely strong. Although the timing of opening a new hotel amid an economic recession is a concern, hotel operators say the long-term future looks strong.

"We're excited. Farmington is a good town. I know the economy is pretty tough right now, but I know it's not going to be that way forever," Anesi said. "We're optimistic and betting the future will be brighter."

While visitors staying for several nights at the TownePlace Suites are a target customer, the hotel will have available rooms with rates starting at $85 per night. That price, which is seasonably variable, is intended to make the hotel a competitive option for all travelers regardless of the planned length of stay, said Jim Heumann, president of the site's management company, HHC Hotels.

The hotel will feature rooms larger than the traditional room. The largest available rooms are the 725-square-foot, four-room suites that offer two private bedrooms with a shared living room and kitchen. Rates for those suites typically will average around $150, Heumann said.

Also included at the TownePlace Suites are five meeting rooms. While the hotel chain typically doesn't include meeting space, high demand for the rentable areas in Farmington made it a logical feature to include, the hotel manager said.

"I'm so excited about this hotel," Mills said. "It's the only one of its kind in Farmington."

Despite the weathered local economy, hotels in Farmington have continued to sell rooms to business travelers during the week, an indication that the local hotel market has remained stronger than others in the state, Farmington Chamber of Commerce President Dorothy Nobis said.

"Definitely, I think there's need for it," Nobis said of the extended-stay hotel. "It's the business travel that is the base of the success for most of our hotels."

The need for additional hotel space in the Farmington area is highlighted in the summer season when tourists report difficulty finding available hotel rooms, she said.

"You're going to find hotel and motel owners who are going to complain about one more coming to town," Nobis said. "But what I think it honestly does is it raises the bar for every hotel/motel in town."

James Monteleone:

jmonteleone@daily-times.com

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