4 major hotels are being built in Louisville – and tourism officials want more. Here's why

Does Louisville really need more hotel rooms?

Rosanne Mastin, marketing manager for Louisville Tourism, said the number of hotel development projects underway in Derby City should answer that question.

"We always need more hotels," Mastin said in November. We will never say no to a hotel. Never."

Mastin's group tries to keep track of developments and how Louisville Metro's total occupancy compares with other cities in the region -- think Nashville or Indianapolis, she said.

There are currently 21,744 rooms spread across 174 hotels in Louisville, according to the tourism department's data. That's a far cry from the number of rooms in smaller or similarly sized cities the group compares Derby City with including:

• Nashville, which has 478 hotels and 56,240 rooms;

• Cincinnati, which has 287 hotels and 30,485 rooms;

• and Pittsburgh which has 272 hotels and 28,433 rooms.

A total of 19 hotels have opened since 2019, according to Mastin's data, adding 1,931 rooms across the metro area. Examples include Whiskey Row addition Hotel Distil in 2019, the downtown Cambria hotel in 2021 and the East End's Bellweather Hotel in 2021.

The additional hotel rooms aren't just aimed at tourists, either.

Convention centers, like the Kentucky International Convention Center and the Kentucky Exposition Center, draw trade show crowds. However, Mastin said the city needs more rooms for attendees of lucrative conventions including The Utility Expo and the Equip Exposition, which brings Louisville an estimated $33 million a year.

Additionally, Louisville has secured another "conference and exhibition for trade show and corporate event" for April 2023 called EXHIBITORLIVE after it was hosted in Las Vegas for over 30 years. EXHIBITORLIVE is estimated to bring in $3.35 million to the city, according to tourism department estimates.

Several new hotels are popping up around the city in the meantime. Here's a look at some of the multimillion-dollar developments that have been given the green light over the past year or so, with some set to open in the near future.

The Devonian

Earlier this year, local developer Gill Holland announced plans to bring a Paleozoic-inspired "community hotel" concept to the Portland neighborhood.

Work on The Devonian hasn't broken ground, and Holland said the project could tentatively open in 2025. Financing had not been secured when it was announced in April and on Dec. 2, Holland said the hote's team is "exploring some additional funding opportunities" and working with a bank to see if they're eligible for 2023 new market tax credits.

The hotel at 1624 Lytle St. will include 25 rooms along with a pool and a rooftop deck, Holland said. Nearby attractions include the Louisville Visual Art gallery, the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute and live music at "fifteenTWELVE," a gallery and event venue next door.

Portland has about 13,000 residents, according to the neighborhood's website, but is among Louisville's lowest income brackets, with U.S. Census data reporting the average household income is $28,646. The goal, officials behind the project previously said, is to bring "community pride back to a forgotten section" of Louisville and stand as the city's only hotel west of Ninth Street.

More coverage:A hotel in western Louisville? Well-known developer has big plans in Portland

Hotel Genevieve

When the Courier Journal spoke in April to officials behind a boutique hotel concept coming to the NuLu neighborhood, they said Hotel Genevieve would "be an original."

The hotel is on track for its April 2023 opening, officials said, with construction now well underway. With a $31 million price tag, Hotel Genevieve is set to be six-floor, 122-room facility at 730 E. Market St. Amar Lalvani, executive director of Standard International, the company behind The Standard and Bunkhouse hotels, set his sights on Louisville for the hotel, named for a French saint, after he visited in 2020. Lalvani thought the city had a "vibrancy" and "you can see where it's heading" but that there wasn't a hotel to match those vibes in NuLu.

Hotel Genevieve will have a "grocery concept" with fresh and packaged foods, the director said, with unique choices that "perhaps may not be found anywhere in the town itself," Lalvani previously told The Courier Journal. The team is also planning an art garden on an adjacent lot in partnership with nearby Rabbit Hole Distillery to improve access between the distillery, hotel and surrounding businesses.

Background: How an unexpected turn of events landed Louisville this new boutique hotel in NuLu

Derby City Gaming venue

Plans for a $76 million facelift at Churchill Downs have been in the works for at least a year, including the addition of a five-story hotel.

The Derby City Gaming hotel is set to open in May 2023, although it won't be until after the next Kentucky Derby, according to Tonya Abeln, a spokesperson for the venue.

The 123-room hotel is part of a larger upgrade to the current Derby City Gaming facility, which opened in 2018 at 4520 Poplar Level Road. Other elements of the 135,000-square-foot renovation include 400 additional gaming positions, a new sports bar, a stage for live entertainment and an upscale-casual restaurant, according to the company.

Construction began earlier this year and created about 400 jobs as well as 60 new permanent jobs at Derby City Gaming. The expanded gaming floor is expected to open Dec. 28 and will include a "VIP gaming space, a new sports bar, a stage for live entertainment and an upscale restaurant," Ablen said.Part of the project will join the hotel with the gaming floor. It's also on track to be completed by the end of this year and will open with an "additional 200 historical racing machines" with the capacity to add an 250 more machines later, Ablen said.

In more news: Churchill Downs bringing Derby City Gaming-style betting venue to downtown Louisville

Dream Louisville

In late March, plans for Dream Louisville hotel were approved by a city committee after a few months of drama regarding the demolition of six historic buildings that occupy the space slated for the project on Museum Row.

Work on the project was expected to begin in late 2022 with a grand opening in early 2025, but in early December, hotel spokesperson Katie Fontana, said construction has not started and that there aren't any other updates.

The 169-room hotel is set to tower 10 stories over downtown and the hotel will maintain the fronts of buildings 811 and 823 W. Main St. Behind the historic facades, however, Dream will have four original restaurant concepts, a rooftop pool and lounge along with 10,000-square-feet of private meeting and event space, according to the New York-based Dream Hotel Group.

Even though there are some big hotel developments in the works, there's still room for more, according to Mastin.

The city is aiming to bring in 25 million visitors by 2030. Next on Louisville Tourism's wishlist, she said, is a hotel near the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, a West End track and field complex with other amenities.

Dream on: Massive Main Street hotel project in downtown Louisville gets committee approval

Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Does Louisville need more hotels? City tourism officials explain why