Three new, adjacent hotels open downtown
Three new hotels, totaling more than 300 rooms, are now open in downtown Milwaukee, it was announced Tuesday.
The hotels, each bringing a new brand to downtown, are in two six-story adjoining buildings at 515-525 N. Jefferson St.
One building has two brands: a 115room Home2 Suites by Hilton and a 100room Tru by Hilton. The other building is a 116-room Holiday Inn Express.
The hotels, with more than 100 fulltime employees, are operated by Coralville, Iowa-based Hawkeye Hotels and its partner, Bloomington, Minnesotabased JR Hospitality Group LLC.
“Although the market has slowed down in recent times due to Covid, we are extremely optimistic that downtown Milwaukee will continue to grow in the years to come,” said Jay Patel, Hawkeye Hotels development manager, in statement.
Operating multiple brands allows the hotels to meet different needs, said Jay Bhakta, JR Hospitality managing partner.
Home2 Suites is an extended stay property with kitchenettes catering to long-term guests, while the Tru and Holiday Inn Express brands target guests seeking shorter stays, Bhakta said.
The hotels include an indoor pool, fitness center and business center in each building.
Hotels nationwide, including those in the Milwaukee area, have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through September, the 2020 occupancy rate of Milwaukee area hotels was 37.8%, according to STR Inc., a Hendersonville, Tennessee-based hotel industry data provider.
That compares with a 67.6% rate from the same period in 2019.
The average daily rate for Milwaukee-area hotels was $89 for the first nine months of this year. That compares with $116 from the year-earlier period, according to STR.