WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 30, 2014) -- The world's largest Candlewood Suites hotel has opened on Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, as part of efforts to provide quality temporary lodging to Service members, their families and other visitors.
The 310-room facility opened Oct. 23, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It is part of the Privatization of Army Lodging program.
The Army-led program was launched in 2009, as a means to revitalize temporary, on-post lodging facilities.
In addition to the new Candlewood Suites, Joint Base San Antonio also welcomed completion of renovations and grand opening of a new Holiday Inn Express.
The secretary of the Army determined that in order to have the best value for Service members and their families, it was important to competitively select a partner to operate and manage the Army's transient lodging facilities, according to Paul Cramer, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Housing and Partnerships.
"The partnership that has been created between the Army, Joint Base San Antonio, our partner and developer -- Lend Lease, and the hotel operator -- InterContinental Hotels Group, is a model that can be applied across the government as an example of what can be achieved when government and private sector work together," he said.
A Privatization of Army Lodging program official said the two hotels at Joint Base San Antonio are designed to complement one another, as the Candlewood Suites is an extended-stay hotel model, while the Holiday Inn Express is a short-stay hotel model.
In addition to those hotels, October saw a flurry of activity with privatized lodging on bases: new Candlewood Suites opened on Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Huachuca, Arizona, while a renovated Holiday Inn Express opened on Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
The Privatization of Army Lodging program said that upon the completion of the program to improve the quality of temporary lodging, it will have resulted in the delivery of more than 11,600 hotel rooms across 39 installations nationwide.
All profits are reinvested back into hotel maintenance and upgrades.
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