The developer of an 87-room hotel at
Robb Drive and Interstate 80 in northwest
Reno is betting on continued strong growth
in business travel.
The hotel, which will carry the Best
Western Brand, is expected to be under
construction by the end of this year and
open by next spring.
Tom Jurbala of Las Vegas, managing
partner of Reno Hospitality Development
LLC, said his company believes business
travelers will account for about 75 percent
of the hotel's occupancy.
That's a growing segment of the Reno
lodging market, Jurbala said, and it's a segment
that currently has few options other
than casino properties.
Reno Hospitality Development also is
banking on business from families with
children who don't want to stay in casino
properties. A quarter of the rooms in the
new hotel will be family-friendly suites.
Jurbala said his firm's studies found that
business has been weak in Reno hotels and
motels, but the trend doesn't cut across all
segments of the market.
"The hotels have been doing quite well
in the freeway corridor," he said.
The Best Western in northwest Reno
will be priced in the $59 to $79 range,
Jurbala said, and his group expects the price
and the Best Western marketing muscle to be a
potent combination.
"Reno is a Best Western kind of town," he said.
The project marks the first major hotel construction
in northwest Reno, said Dewey Struble,
senior vice president of investment properties for
Colliers International. He represented Reno
Hospitality Development in its purchase of the
5.3-acre site.
Previous business-oriented hotel projects have
mostly been located in south Reno. An all-suites,
Marriott-branded hotel is planned, for instance, at
Del Monte and U.S. 395.
"This project makes a very positive statement
about our region, that national flagged hotels want
and need a presence in northern Nevada," said
Struble.
He said other national hotel chains are scouting
the area, looking for sites to serve business as well
as recreational travelers.
Reno Hospitality Development also controls a
pad next to the northwest Reno hotel site and is
negotiating with restaurant chains, Jurbala said.
Talcott Construction, a Montana company, will
build the hotel.
