Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that HVM, L.L.C., the manager of the largest company owned and operated chain of extended stay hotels in the U.S. and Canada, with 685 locations and 9,000 employees will move its national and international corporate headquarters to Charlotte. The company plans to create 170 jobs over the next three years and will invest $3.6 million in its headquarters facility. The project was made possible in part by state grants from the Job Development Investment Grant program.
“A travel industry corporate headquarters is a perfect fit for North Carolina, with our steady and growing flow of visitors, corporate travelers and vacationers,“ Gov. Perdue said. “Not only will HVM use their Charlotte base to manage their 76,000 rooms across the country and Canada, they will also operate corporate training programs, aided by easy access to top flight educational resources. Once again, our investment in education pays off.”
HVM was incorporated in Delaware in 1997 and is currently headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The company has managed Extended Stay Hotels since the 2004 merger of Extended Stay America, Inc. and Homestead Studio Suites. HVM manages 33 hotel facilities in North Carolina, with 438 current full and part-time employees. The corporate headquarters will provide administrative support including human resources, facility maintenance, financial administration, advertising and marketing, guest services, training and legal services.
While individual wages for the 170 jobs will vary by job function, the overall average for the new jobs will be $83,580 a year, not including benefits. The Mecklenburg County average annual wage is $51,584.
“After careful consideration, we have determined that, as a leader in the hospitality industry, the company’s growing business and commercial needs will be better served from corporate headquarters in a major, national market and transportation hub, said Gary DeLapp, president and CEO of HVM, L.L.C., the manager of the Extended Stay Hotel chain. “Charlotte, in addition to being home to seven of our hotel properties, provides an excellent nucleus for our plans and expectations for growth. We are delighted to join the outstanding group of corporate citizens that call Charlotte their corporate headquarters.”
To help facilitate this expansion, the state Economic Investment Committee today voted to award a Job Development Investment Grant to HVM. JDIGs are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant.
Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 75 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the 12 years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If HVM meets the targets called for under the agreement, the JDIG could yield $4.7 million in maximum benefits for the company.
Other partners that assisted with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community Colleges and the Charlotte Chamber.
Through Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative, the state continues to work aggressively to create well-paying jobs, train and retrain its workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.
For more information about HVM visit www.extendedstayhotels.com.