The Susse Chalet brand was a chain of franchise hotels with all locations in the United States in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. Hotels featured free local calls, dataports, expanded cable television, and continental breakfast. Most properties offered meeting facilities and swimming pool. The chain was sold in 2000 and the brand phased out shortly after.
History
Fred Roedel founded the chain in 1967 with the opening of the first Susse Chalet Motor Lodge in Nashua, New Hampshire.[1] Roedel had previously been the president of a food company who was constantly traveling and ended up investing in the industry sector.[2] Hotel managers were incentivized based on the savings they could make on each sale.[3]
By 1975, the company, then known as Chalet Susse International, had 15 motels. Early properties were traditional two-story units with all-exterior corridors. In 1983, the company opened its first multi-story facility in Manchester, New Hampshire. This new prototype could have three to five stories with interior corridors and between 105 and 160 rooms. Later, the company introduced bedside "Command Centers" to its rooms; they were desktop devices that included alarm clock, telephone, light and climate controls of the room.