Would You Sacrifice Space for Style in a Hotel Stay?
*By Amanda Weston*
Small hotel spaces that go big on style are attracting both millennials and older guests, and one founder believes the micro-hotel concept will only continue to spread ー and dominate.
"I think it'll kill it everywhere," Richard Born, co-founder of Pod Hotels operator BD Hotels, told Cheddar Friday.
"It killed it in Washington, and each one of these Pod Hotels have been really fully-occupied from the day we opened the doors."
After expanding to Washington, D.C., last year, Pod is plotting for more growth. A Philadelphia location is under construction, and the building of a Los Angeles outpost will get underway in November.
[Pod Hotels](https://www.thepodhotel.com/) began in New York in 2007 and now has locations in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. The average room size is 125 to 130 square feet, priced around $150-$175 per night. By comparison, The Real Deal [reported](https://therealdeal.com/2018/06/07/pricing-power-finally-returns-to-manhattans-hotels/) the city's average rate is $216.
While his hotels are limited on traditional space, Born said they have more to offer than square footage. All the locations have bars and outdoor spaces, creating a sense of community for guests.
"We simply ask our guests to sacrifice a little bit of real estate for a lot of style," Born said. "We think we deliver very high quality. So if you can't afford to stay in a high end boutique hotel, you can stay in a micro boutique hotel."
A Times Square location debuted this year with 665 rooms and 45 "Pod Pads" for longer-term stays. An upgrade on the original rooms, the micro-apartments run between 500 and 550 square feet for a two-bedroom.
"The interesting thing about the Pod Pads is that most of our customers come in to look at an apartment and just take the key and stay," Born said. "Because we're fully furnished, and you have all services, and you really don't need anything other than your own clothes and a toothbrush."
BD Hotels also manages New York City's The Mercer, The Marlton, The Bowery, The Maritime, and The Greenwich hotel properties.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/micro-hotels-trade-size-for-savings-and-style).
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