Panel opposes license for WoodSpring hotel

The Milwaukee Common Council Licensing Committee on Tuesday recommended that an extended stay WoodSpring Suites hotel be denied an operating permit.

The committee voted 4-0 to recommend denial of the license for the proposed hotel near Mitchell International Airport. The opposition is tied to the chain’s value-priced, extended stay business model.

The Common Council will likely vote on the committee’s recommendation at its July 31 meeting.

WoodSpring has proposed a fourstory, 123 room hotel at 1801 W. Layton Ave.

WoodSpring representatives have said the chain’s business model has no overnight staffing on the front desk and housekeeping that is provided every two weeks.

Ald. Terry Witkowski, whose district includes the proposed hotel, and other local residents said they are concerned those policies and comparatively low price would attract crime.

“The main concern is crime and what else they would bring to the neighborhood,” Witkowski said.

WoodSpring representatives denied these claims and said their average guest is college educated with an income at or above the national average.

Representatives also said their hotels take appropriate security measures.

They said there would be cameras throughout the hotel and that staff reserves the right to enter rooms more often than every two weeks if they have suspicions about a guest’s activity.

They also said two employees would live on site, one of whom would be on call each night.

Capt. Kristin Riestra, commander of Milwaukee Police Department District 6, opposed the hotel and said police have experienced problems and an excessive call volume from other extended stay hotels in the area with a similar

price.

She said her district received 117 calls in 2017 from the Milwaukee Airport Inn, an extended stay property across the street from WoodSpring’s proposed location.

“My concern is not having a front desk person seven days a week in those overnight hours,” Riestra said. “From 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. is when most not-lawabiding citizens are active.”

Thirty local residents and leaders of nearby neighborhood associations joined Witkowski and Riestra in opposition to the hotel, with some saying they would move from the area if the hotel were to open.

The proposal has faced months of opposition from Witkowski and previously run into roadblocks from the city that delayed the project.

The opposition and previous setbacks likely caused WoodSpring to seek an operating license before beginning construction, unlike most hotels, which don’t apply for a license until after construction and building inspections are complete.

WoodSpring Suites has also run into problems when trying to build hotels in other nearby cities.

WoodSpring proposed a similar hotel at 4040 W. Layton Ave. in Greenfield in 2015. Greenfield officials opposed the plans.

WoodSpring Suites, based in Wichita, Kan., has more than 240 hotels in 35 states, but none in Wisconsin.