What You Need to Know About Weekender Hotels

Who doesn’t love the weekend? Keir Weimer, CEO and founder of Weekender Hotels does and he bet on the idea that travelers would, too.

The inspiration behind the brand’s name was the nostalgia and the emotion that the weekend connotes and genders, says Weimer. “I don’t think anybody has a negative memory of what the weekend was to them growing up, what it still is to them now, and how we prioritize now increasingly so post-pandemic, what it means to take time off, to adventure, to do things that create joy and inspiration in life within us.”

The hotel company was incorporated in mid-March, 2021. There are currently seven locations in three states. They are Town House Lodge in Lake Placid, New York; Placid Bay Hotel also in Lake Placid; Trailhead in Tupper Lake, New York (the brand’s largest property with 33 rooms); Great Pines in Old Forge, New York (which was the original property acquired by Weimer in 2015 before Weekender was founded six years later); Alpine Lodge in North Creek, New York; Riverhouse by Weekender in Peterborough, New Hampshire (Riverhouse is a sister brand of Weekender); and Aspen in Manchester, Vermont. A land development project is underway in Lake George, New York, “to really lean into the outdoor enthusiast’s desires and yearnings.”

Adventure and outdoor travel
While each property has its own unique story with deep connections and loyalty to local history and culture, signature amenities include Beekman 1802 spa products, Kassatex linens, and smart technology like wicked-fast WiFi. Recreational amenities at the hotels are naturally weekend fun inspired—adventure sheds stocked with gear, bikes, backpacks, items that guests can sign out, and saunas. The busiest seasons are generally summer and early fall into the mid-fall, says Weimer. “And then winter once the snow is falling in the Northeast.”

Average room rates across the portfolio are just over $200 per night, “so very approachable for a lot of the traveling public,” says Weimer.

“It is our mission at Weekender to inspire our guests to personal growth through adventure travel,” says Weimer. “And we do that through hotel stays and hotel experiences and iconic destinations around the Northeast and eventually around the country and eventually around the world.”

Weimer says he is very bullish about the state of the leisure and destination space in the hospitality market, and the company is on pace to acquire between three and four additional projects this year. “We’re getting back into growth mode now as the market and interest rates are improving.”

He also anticipates the brand expanding into new regions in the next couple of years, eventually moving the brand out West. And, the company is also interested in expanding into different brand segments like the RV market, says Weimer. Also on the table is a higher-end offering, he says, along the same idea of Weekender and sister brand Riverhouse by Weekender.

Weekender experiences
About six months ago, Weekender Experiences debuted, a marketplace of vetted operators and vendors in each hotel’s destination, and listed on the pages of the hotel’s individual sites. Think: equipment rental for mountain biking, skiing, fly fishing, and ice fishing: snowmobile rentals; guided hikes and tours; local culinary experiences; paddling opportunities on nearby lakes and rivers. “Just as you would book a stay, you can explore the different packages,” says Weimer. “We thought that that was really cool to lean into the curation and the planning to make it super easy for our guests to get out and experience all these amazing things that surround the hotels in the various locations that we are in,” says Weimer.  “We’re also offering some other things that will be announced later in the year in terms of different amenities and services,” he says.

Family-friendly is at the brand’s core, and some properties include pet-friendly cabins and accommodations. Also, most Weekender hotels are in locations within a two or three-hour drive from a major city such as Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, says Weimer. “So what’s been nice, too, is guests don’t have to fly to get to us. They’re usually seeing beautiful drives up into the mountains and the lake communities in which we’re located.”