Jump to content

Hotel shortage in uptown Charlotte?


HopHead

Recommended Posts

I wasn't aware of this problem, but it appears we have a big shortage of hotels in the uptown area per this news article: Tourists Pack Uptown Charlotte Hotels. Even the current number of hotels under construction isn't going to alleviate this problem per Mike Butts.

Anyone have some info on any new potential hotel projects? Any other thoughts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 21
  • Created
  • Last Reply
I wasn't aware of this problem, but it appears we have a big shortage of hotels in the uptown area per this news article: Tourists Pack Uptown Charlotte Hotels. Even the current number of hotels under construction isn't going to alleviate this problem per Mike Butts.

Anyone have some info on any new potential hotel projects? Any other thoughts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have mentioned this point several times before in other threads. We definitely need more hotel rooms. Prices are outrageous for the type of city that Charlotte it, and half the time it's just impossible to find a room unless you want to go out to Tyvola or the University.

There are plenty of hotel chains that don't have a presence downtown, but should -- Hyatt, Radisson, Sheraton, Doubletree (OK, well there is one in Gateway Village, but not really uptown), Rennaisance, etc. And what about some nice boutique hotels? Every other city seems to have them -- all we've got is The Dunhill and The Blake.

I think they should just drop the plans for "The Tower" and just make it more rooms for Hilton Garden Inn or Hampton Inn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will concur with this. In the past 2 years, rooms have been increasingly difficult to come by in the Uptown market. Obviously the arena played a role. I used to be able to easliy find a cheap room at the Holiday Inn Center City, but no more--esp during Bobcasts season. The Crown Plaza has become my reasonably affordable hotel of choice, but even that has become difficult. I agre with the above poster... where are the boutique hotels??? I would think there would be a huge market for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have mentioned this point several times before in other threads. We definitely need more hotel rooms. Prices are outrageous for the type of city that Charlotte it, and half the time it's just impossible to find a room unless you want to go out to Tyvola or the University.

There are plenty of hotel chains that don't have a presence downtown, but should -- Hyatt, Radisson, Sheraton, Doubletree (OK, well there is one in Gateway Village, but not really uptown), Rennaisance, etc. And what about some nice boutique hotels? Every other city seems to have them -- all we've got is The Dunhill and The Blake.

I think they should just drop the plans for "The Tower" and just make it more rooms for Hilton Garden Inn or Hampton Inn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was looking for places to live down here earlier this year, I stayed at that Garden Inn. I was just under the assumption that they were expanding one of (or both) the hotels until I later heard about "the Tower". I agree, definitely would have made more sense to add rooms then make them condos. Maybe someone will be smart enough to buy that land being made available by the Nascar HoF and put a hotel there... preferably a boutique.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well there are several we know about in works and due to open within the next couple of years.

1. The Ritz at BOA

2. Aloft Hotel at the Epicenter

3. Twelve Hotel and Residences at Norvare's site

4. Trump (if built)

5. Sierra Hotel next to Bobcats Arena (if built)

6. 300 South Tyron ???

Any i'm missing?

It will also be intresting to see what the county desides to do with all the land that is being opened back up with the I-277 interchange at the Nascar HOF entrance also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well there are several we know about in works and due to open within the next couple of years.

1. The Ritz at BOA

2. Aloft Hotel at the Epicenter

3. Twelve Hotel and Residences at Norvare's site

4. Trump (if built)

5. Sierra Hotel next to Bobcats Arena (if built)

6. 300 South Tyron ???

Any i'm missing?

It will also be intresting to see what the county desides to do with all the land that is being opened back up with the I-277 interchange at the Nascar HOF entrance also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could have misunderstood 300 south tryon. All I know is that is suppose to be mixed use, which could potentailly have the room for hotels i'm not certain on that by any means... I know it as suppose to have retail, office, and condos. But hotel??????

Can anyone confirm this for certain about 300 block?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is so apropos. My former career partly involved procuring hotel accommodations for incoming corporate sales staff and vendors. Trying to get a room downtown was/is impossible. Same goes for Ballantyne. I'd (half jokingly) beg our hotel reps to add 10 floors to their properties so we could accommodate our guests. For our folks trying to get downtown, we'd typically have to put them in the Courtyard/Residence Inn in SouthPark, if we were lucky enough to find vacancy there. Even the Hampton Inn at Philips Place is often at capacity. Someone will make a LOT of money building hotels downtown, in SP, and in south Charlotte. It was ridiculous. I hated having to put our European and Asian people so far away from downtown when our local staff really wanted them in the center city. I loved getting calls/emails starting with, "We're bringing in 12 people for a meeting in Charlotte and they want to be downtown..." I usually responded with, "What year?" Oy vey...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We need to see some more hotels in downtown. I'm thinking along the lines of a

- Sofitel ( http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/gb/univers/index.shtml )

- Hard Rock Hotel ( http://www.hardrockhotels.com/ )

- Loews ( http://www.loewshotels.com )

- Kimpton ( http://www.kimptonhotels.com/hotels.aspx )

I know they lean towards the luxe side, but boutique hotels should be. I think it would also serve to help properly tier the hotels in Uptown in terms of prices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good point. I still think it would do well here, Charlotte is obviously growing fast with a lot of visitors and residents being young and having deep pockets. Somehow the Hilton and the Marriot just don't scream fun like a Hard Rock does :rolleyes: . As Charlotte continues to build itself into the cultural and entertainment hub of the Carolinas, I think it would fit in nicely as well as add to the atmosphere.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree we need more hotels downtown...but are we getting to a point where it is going to be very difficult for a Hard Rock, SofiHotel, or a Lowes to secure the real estate downtown for the operations they like to run? Typically hotels like these take up an entire city block...downtown is starting to run out of room.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally - rather than just building more hotels uptown, I'd like to see some mid-range to economy hotels go in at the I-485 LRT station. The same thing could work for the Tyvola and Woodlawn stations as well, those are pretty close to I-77.

That would be a convenient way for some folks to attend conferences, events, etc uptown without having to drive there and worry about parking & traffic, and without having to pay $150+ per night. Whenever my family and I traveled to a city with transit (trips to Atlanta and Washington DC come to mind) we'd stay at a cheap hotel near the end of a transit line and also near the interstate. Pull right off the highway, leave the car at the hotel, and take the train into the city. I think this could work pretty well in Charlotte, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally - rather than just building more hotels uptown, I'd like to see some mid-range to economy hotels go in at the I-485 LRT station. The same thing could work for the Tyvola and Woodlawn stations as well, those are pretty close to I-77.

That would be a convenient way for some folks to attend conferences, events, etc uptown without having to drive there and worry about parking & traffic, and without having to pay $150+ per night. Whenever my family and I traveled to a city with transit (trips to Atlanta and Washington DC come to mind) we'd stay at a cheap hotel near the end of a transit line and also near the interstate. Pull right off the highway, leave the car at the hotel, and take the train into the city. I think this could work pretty well in Charlotte, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

August hotel occupancy and daily prices have been released. The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority says that hotel occupancy was almost 70 percent, up 4.5 percent from August 2006. The average daily rate for hotel rooms in August was $81.78, up 12.1 percent from last August. More information can be found at Charlotte.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.