My Place Hotels of America has continued to grow throughout the first half of 2025. In February, the company opened its largest hotel to date, My Place Hotel-Las Vegas South/Henderson, Nevada. Following this milestone, the positive momentum continued with the opening of My Place Hotel-Bentonville/Rogers, which marked the company’s debut in Arkansas. As My Place continues to expand, its progress stems from prioritizing relationships with franchisees.
“I think, fundamentally, My Place Hotels is founded on relationships,” said Matt Campbell, chief operating officer and chief legal officer, My Place Hotels. “That certainly makes a difference in the franchise relationships and the growth that we’ve experienced not only in 2025, but over the 11 years that we’ve been doing this. It’s the backbone of who we are, what we’re doing. It’s people first. As we navigate those relationships from an operational standpoint, it’s the listening, it’s the engagement, it’s advancing what we’re doing from a product or even a process standpoint by listening and engaging and applying that feedback through those relationships. But foundationally, relationships are what drive My Place Hotels.”
The success is in maintaining the balance. And so, every time we make a decision like how do we introduce a new room type or a new prototype size, so much thought goes into balancing the consideration and being sensitive to the guests, as well as the franchisee and operator.
Ryan Rivett, co-founder and CEO of My Place Hotels
Ryan Rivett, co-founder and CEO of My Place Hotels, also discussed the importance of these relationships as he described the dynamics of serving the needs of both franchisees and guests. He noted that maintaining the balance was crucial. “Every time we make a decision, like how do we introduce a new room type or a new prototype size, so much thought goes into balancing the consideration and being sensitive to the guests, as well as the franchisee and operator. So, it takes time. But [with] our success, so much [of it] has been in being able to create that balance and implement that balance quickly,” he explained.
Flexible Offerings
Rivett noted that the simplicity of My Place’s design model has been enhanced by guest feedback, as well as focus groups over the years. In doing so, Rivett said, the company has learned that guests aren’t necessarily looking for something specific with the room or the product, further enabling My Place to emphasize a flexible model. “There’s a broader array of different approaches to it from the franchisees’ perspective, and keeping it simple for them makes the business plan more implementable. So, you find that balance and in the maintenance of [the] simplicity and integrity of the design.”
Personal Connections
The process of building and maintaining relationships with franchisees starts with the first meeting, as Campbell detailed. He described how the My Place team wants franchisees to visit their headquarters in Aberdeen, South Dakota, so they can establish a personal connection that establishes a channel of communication for feedback. “In that discovery visit, I’m able to look them in the eye and say, ‘My role for you in this whole relationship is to make sure you find value in what we’re providing.
And I’m able to take what you’re seeing in the field and apply it to what we’re doing in operations. And here’s my phone number. Here’s my email. I want to hear about what’s going on,’” said Campbell. “And very rarely is there a week that goes by that I don’t have a franchisee calling and asking a question or sharing an idea. So, it’s me and others on the team extending themselves, saying, ‘Hey, I want to hear your opinion. I want to be here to support you.’ And I think that’s unique when you grow a franchise system like we have over a handful of years.”
Likewise, Rivett stated that consistency in these communications is a key part of the process. He also noted that some franchisees aren’t used to having direct access with a franchisor, and they often appreciate having that connection and the opportunity to work together.
“It becomes teamwork,” he explained. “It becomes a group of like-minded people working in collaboration as opposed to two people on different sides of the table from one another. So, we keep those communications tight, [and] we keep them consistent, but we also maintain a position right alongside them so that we’re able to partner as much as we are to lead and direct.” [For more insights into effective franchisor–franchisee relationships, see the article in our digital edition here.]
Future Expansion
My Place Hotels of America has plans to expand its footprint by approximately 15 percent in 2025, and the company aims to grow beyond that in the future. Rivett explained that the company has surpassed the mark of 100 franchises, and they want to maintain that pace of development. While external circumstances, including changes stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy, have made that challenging, My Place continues to persevere, even as the extended-stay space has continued to evolve. “The competitive landscape in the extended-stay space has grown so much over the last several years,” said Rivett. “What comes along with that is a little bit of a blurring of the lines and of the key attributes of the segment. And that also is true for My Place. … I think we’re going to see a lot of evolution in the extended-stay space in the next few years, where revenue models have to become more dynamic, like what we have. So, we’re excited to be a frontrunner.”
