LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) — The hotel market in downtown Little Rock continues to grow.
Arkansas Business reports that three groups are backing the latest hotel projects to hit downtown.
The planned Aloft Hotel in the 12-story Boyle Building was announced more than 14 months ago and remains delayed. It’s led by the Chi Hotel Group, which paid more than $4 for the property.
So far, the building has been gutted, but delays with renovations to buildings next door to the hotel have stopped work on the Aloft.
There’s also plans by hotelier Feroz Patel for a hotel called Vib at 219 E. Sixth St. Patel acquired the site and adjoining land for $699,000 in July.
And there’s plans for a 140-room Hilton Garden Inn at 322 Rock St.
The $12.5 million project is led by the Pinnacle Hotel Group, and Chet Patel, its president, says he’s aiming for it to come online in spring next year.
The Hilton will employ 50 and house nearly 4,000 square feet of meeting space, a full-service restaurant and bar, and a top-floor venue called Posh.
The seven-story hotel would be the newest in downtown Little Rock since the Homewood Suites by Hilton opened June 2 at 400 River Market Ave.
Clark Contractors LLC of Little Rock is building the Hilton Garden Inn it’s one of 11 hotel projects his company is working on. Seven are in Texas.
CEO William Clark says there’s a national boom in hotel construction, as companies rush to meet demand for business travel. Locally, conventions and tourism are also driving hotel business.
Last year marked the biggest booking season for the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau since 2006.
Events coordinated with the bureau booked more than 137,000 room nights associated with nearly 500,000 attendees in 2015.
In all, occupancy among eight existing downtown hotels, which includes the Wyndham Riverfront in North Little Rock, climbed to 71.3 percent in 2015.
And the average daily room rate among the eight hotels rose as well, averaging $126 in 2015 compared with $123.75 in 2014.