Joy Bricker, 79, turned her 46sqm Towne Place Suites by Marriott, in Virginia, into a home. She checked in on August 4, 2001, and became the longest extended-stay guest any Marriott hotel had seen, CNN said.

What forced her to move from her “home” was osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. She moved with her daughter in new York. She is a former pilot, who began her carrier at 50, including a stint at the White House.

The death of her husband, Glenn, from cancer gave her no pause in returning to work in 2001, which landed her at the Towne Place Suites.

Extended hotel stays were not unusual, Towne Place Suites general manager Carla Berberich said.

“For less than the price of many apartment rentals in the Washington metro area (roughly $US1500-$US1700 ($1400-$1600) a month) Bricker’s room was supplied with wi-fi, which fuelled her hours of daily online research and reading a day, and the added benefit of daily room cleaning, and round-the-clock security. Though she says she still makes her bed each day, though not nearly as well,” CNN said.

“Bricker has become a pillar of the transient, makeshift community. She’s made friends of staff and short-term neighbours alike. Next door, her new Kuwaiti friend brings traditional meals of spiced stew for them to share.

“It was this family of hotel staff who came to her aid when, last year, a late-night fall landed her in the hospital with a broken hip.
“General manager Bobby Bellinger was the first person Bricker saw when she awoke in her hospital bed.”