When the new Springhill Suites Hotel on Cinema Way in Benton Charter Township opened up for business this past winter, construction was already underway for the new Staybridge Inn & Suites going up right next door. Both of them are directly across the street from the Hilton Garden Inn. If you thought that would be the end of the creation of new lodging in that neighborhood, you couldn’t have been more wrong.
Last fall I noticed that the land immediately adjacent to the forthcoming Staybridge Inn & Suites was clear cut of trees and shrubs not long after the Staybridge property had been cleared. I reached out to Benton Township Building Inspector Tom Baldwin, curious as to what might be planned for that newly plowed ground. He told me at that time that Sam Sandia — owner of both the Springhill and Staybridge properties was planning a third major hotel on that strip between Staybridge and Family Farm & Home behind WalMart.
Sam admitted to clearing the land, but only said in his text message to me, “We only have plans for 88 room Staybridge right now. We might have interest in one of the properties next door in the future.” When I told him what Baldwin had said, he said only, “Yes, we cleared the land but I don’t have a flag yet.” The term flag is used in the lodging industry interchangeably with brand. So, Sandia was ready to plant a stake in the ground, he just didn’t have a brand identified for that site.
Well…that has changed. Pinnacle Hospitality PMG operates the stable of lodging facilities and their Director of Sales, Victoria Leonard tells me that they plan to break ground as early as next month for construction of yet another top flight, 80 to 90 room hotel property there flying the Courtyard By Marriott flag opening some time in 2018.
It doesn’t stop there, however, as Pinnacle is also planning to erect another sister property flying the Holiday Inn Express & Suites along the I-94 corridor in about another year or so down the road. Pinnacle already manages the existing Holiday Inn Express & Suites at Pipestone & I-94 behind Bob Evans Restaurant.
Sandia explained to Baldwin last fall that the proliferation of new hotel rooms is not unprecedented, and is driven largely by the traveling public’s insatiable desire to accumulate loyalty points by sticking with the same flag or brand everywhere they go, and will pass up hordes of empty hotel rooms to land at the flag they have declared their affinity to almost every time.
With the three major flags already flying on that end of Cinema Way and Courtyard on the way, lots of folks end up shaking their heads. Keep in mind that at the head end of Cinema Way where it melds into Mall Drive there are also 98 rooms at the recently renovated Best Western Hotel which was formerly a Courtyard by Marriott until it changed hands. Next door to that are the Days Inn with 52 rooms and the Red Roof Inn with 108 more. Also at the Pipestone Road interchange with I-94, which is Exit 29, there are 78 rooms at the Holiday Inn Express of Benton Harbor, 62 rooms at the Comfort Suites of Benton Harbor, and 88 rooms at the Motel 6 in front of Home Depot.
At Exit 28 there is also the America’s Best Value Inn with 108 rooms. That property is best known as the former Ramada Inn.
Also new to the market just opened last month is the 86-room Fairfield Inn & Suites on Red Arrow Highway in Lincoln Charter Township. And, we haven’t even touched on the city hotels like The Boulevard Inn, the Inn at Harbor Shores, the Silver Beach Hotel and others.
When the Courtyard By Marriott opens next year, there will be nearly 900 hotel rooms between exits 28 and 29…and amazingly, on many a summer weekend and many a summer day each and every one of them will be filled nearly to capacity or beyond. You will still be faced with the prospect of “no room at the inn.”
