Extended stays are transforming the way that travellers and travel companies view the hospitality landscape. With remote work here to stay for many, corporate relocations surging, and travellers seeking more flexible accommodation arrangements, demand for stays lasting 30+ days is growing. For operators managing furnished apartments, aparthotels, or extended-stay inventory, this shift represents a significant revenue opportunity.
However, a lot of hoteliers still lack access to the right distribution network to respond to this demand and capture a lucrative market. That’s where SiteMinder’s seamless integration with Blueground changes the game.
Let’s deep-dive into what the partnership is, how it works, and what it can mean for your property.
What is Blueground?
Blueground is the global leader in fully-furnished mid- to long-term rentals, with over 40,000 apartments across 100+ cities worldwide. Unlike traditional online travel agencies focused only on short-term stays, Blueground also serves the extended-stay market – guests booking 30+ days who prioritise comfort, consistency, and flexibility.
The platform caters to high-value market segments including business travellers on extended assignments, individuals relocating for work, digital nomads, and corporate managers booking accommodation for their team.
What is the opportunity around extended-stay revenue?
Extended-stay guests offer unique advantages that can significantly boost your hotel’s financial performance including:
- Increased value per guest: A single extended-stay guest averaging 45 nights delivers more revenue than traditional hotel guests staying 2-3 nights. Even at lower nightly rates, the cumulative revenue per guest far exceeds short-term bookings.
- Lower operational costs: Longer stays mean fewer room turnovers, reducing housekeeping, laundry, and maintenance expenses. You’ll also see reduced guest acquisition costs since one booking generates weeks or months of revenue.
- Cash flow stability: Without the constant need to fill rooms each night, your revenue streams are more predictable. A single 30-day booking can replace 15 separate short-term reservations, also improving your revenue forecasting.
- Access to corporate accounts: Extended-stay travellers often represent corporate accounts with higher budgets and lower sensitivity to price, which could mean multiple stays throughout the year leading to valuable repeat business relationships.
Tips for your extended-stay strategy
To make the most of being a property that offers extended-stay inventory, you need to focus on three things:
- Audit your inventory
Which rooms or units are best suited for extended-stay guests? Do they have the right furnishings and amenities? Are they big enough? Do you have separate living areas?
- Be strategic with your pricing
Extended-stay guests expect lower nightly rates but deliver higher total revenue. Use revenue management tools to develop competitive pricing that attracts 30+ day bookings.
- Leverage seasonal opportunities
By using Blueground to lock-in occupancy during low periods, and shifting back to short-stays during peak seasons, you can ensure optimal revenue performance all year.
How do SiteMinder and Blueground work together?
Hoteliers that are subscribed to SiteMinder’s platform can easily access Blueground via native integration. This includes the ability to connect your PMS to Blueground through SiteMinder in a matter of minutes, all it takes is one click.
SiteMinder also offers real-time synchronisation, ensuring that your rates and availability are automatically communicated to Blueground and all your connected channels. This means you’ll always have accurate pricing and inventory, and you’ll eliminate manual work.
Lastly, you get to choose exactly which rooms or units you want to market on Blueground via SiteMinder, so you maintain complete control of how much extended-stay inventory you want to sell.
Key benefits of the integration
With this key partnership, your property can take full advantage of the extended-stay market, resulting in a number of positive business outcomes.
Blueground has a network with access to over 4,000 corporate travel managers which can generate over 120,000 direct bookings each year. These types of decision makers often prioritise quality accommodations and have healthy budgets for travel.
Other benefits include:
- An optimised low season: Extended-stay bookings help fill gaps during traditionally slower periods. Strategic use of dynamic pricing for extended stays can maintain occupancy when short-term demand drops.
- Competitive pricing: At just 7% commission, Blueground’s fee structure ensures more revenue flows to your bottom line compared to traditional OTAs that typically charge 15-25%. This improved margin directly impacts your hotel’s profitability.
Perhaps the most telling benefit is seen in the customers that are already utilising SiteMinder and Blueground’s partnership. Results from users include:
- 60% increase in bookings of 30+ days within two months
- 40% improvement in average length of stay
- 5-10% overall revenue uplift
- Top-performing partners exceed $600K in monthly revenue
How to get started
With SiteMinder’s industry-leading platform and Blueground’s unique access to a lucrative segment, more revenue is at your fingertips.
List your inventory in minutes, pay only 7% commission, and cancel anytime.
Simply join the Blueground Partner Network through SiteMinder and start today!
