REAL ESTATE

Another competitor for the extended-stay hotels are large local apartment complexes, many of which now offer furnished apartments to business people on long stays at what they say are lower rates than the hotels.

Giant Costa Mesa apartment developer Arnel Development recently beefed up marketing for its extended-stay program, calling it VIP Executive Residence Suites in a flurry of brochures mailed to corporations.

Concerned about a wave of apartment construction in southern Orange County, Arnel has become more interested in the executive-suite business recently, said Steve Dorman, executive director of the program, though Arnel has long rented furnished apartments to transient executives.

“Historically, apartment owners like to have 95% occupancy,” Dorman said, “so I’d be happy if the executive suites could account for another 5%.”

Right now the suites are a small chunk of Arnel’s business, Dorman said.

Taking advantage of Arnel’s size, VIP offers suites in 19 Arnel apartment complexes around the county and apartments with up to two bedrooms and two baths.

But competition is stiff in this part of the market too. There are at least a dozen such outfits in the John Wayne Airport area alone, said Jim Burba, a partner in hotel consultant Pannell Kerr Forster’s Newport Beach office. Probably the largest: Oakwood Apartments.