Evansville-based Dunn Hospitality Group plans to open two new hotels next year — one on the city's East Side, and the other in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.
President and chief operating officer David Dunn said Dunn Hospitality will soon break ground on a 103-room hotel that will operate as a Home2 Suites property.
The hotel will be built in the Eagle Crest area just west of Interstate 69 and the Lloyd Expressway, adjacent to a Courtyard by Marriott hotel that Dunn also owns and operates.
Dunn said a groundbreaking date has not yet been set, but it should happen soon.
"It's high on our priority list," he said.
Construction will take eight to nine months, Dunn said, and the company hopes to have the hotel open by spring 2016.
Home2 Suites is a Hilton brand launched in 2011. In its annual report, Hilton describes Home2 Suites as "upper midscale hotels that provide a modern and savvy option to budget conscious extended-stay travelers." The properties include combined laundry/fitness areas, recycling and sustainability features. The hotels are also pet-friendly.
Hilton opened its 50th Home2 Suites property last week in Austin, Texas.
"Our research has illustrated that there's a need for that extended-stay product" in the Evansville market, Dunn said.
In the hospitality industry, he said, "extended stay" is defined as a hotel stay of five or more consecutive nights.
Dunn Hospitality has already begun construction of another hotel, a Holiday Inn Express, in downtown Louisville. That property, Dunn said, should also be open early next year.
The Louisville hotel will be an eight-story, 145-room property at the corner of Eighth and Market streets.
"We're energized about getting back into that market," Dunn said.
Dunn Hospitality previously operated a Courtyard by Marriott near Louisville International Airport, Dunn said, but it sold that property in 2008.
Holiday Inn Express is a brand of the InterContinental Hotels Group, or IHG.
Dunn Hospitality chose to open a Holiday Inn Express in that market, Dunn said, in part because downtown Louisville currently lacks any other IHG properties.
Dunn Hospitality hopes its Holiday Inn Express will attract travelers loyal to IHG's "rewards" program.