HOLLAND — A local ownership group received approval from the Holland Planning Commission this week to build a Homewood Suites extended-stay hotel on Holland’s southside.

Bill Mast, president of Visser Brothers Construction, said the applicant — South Point Real Estate, LLC — has owned the property at 621 South Point Ridge since 2002 and is looking to construct the 123-room hotel to better serve the Holland community.

More:Two new hotels in the works in Holland Township

While one commissioner expressed concerns about the current state of the hotel market in the area, Angela Mann, vice president of operations at Hospitality Specialists, said the ownership group has experience building in Holland.

Mann said the group has opened several hotels in the area and has experience at different price points with different products and has found success. She said the hotel market has changed post-pandemic, with extended-stay products establishing themselves as the new norm.

“Our world changed and over those two years, we have seen that the extended-stay product is what people want,” she said. “It can be seen as a high-end product, it can be a nice one-night stay or it can be for people with a house fire who stay with us for six months.”

The goal of the new hotel is to tailor offerings to meet the needs of business travelers while also meeting the demand for weekend and seasonal travelers.

Mann stressed the importance of having an extended-stay hotel on the southside, saying research has shown businesses don't tend to travel far.

The project was approved unanimously. Construction of the new pet-friendly hotel is expected to start in spring 2023 with an opening date in 2024.

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The hotel is the newest in a string of hospitality openings in Holland and Zeeland since 2018, including the Home2 Suites and SpringHill Suites by Marriott on West Shore Drive, the StayBridge Suites by IHG on James Street and the Avid Hotel Zeeland.

Two additional projects are in the works on the northside, including the TownePlace Suites, which will share a parking lot with the StayBridge Suites by IHG, and the TRU by Hilton, planned for the plot behind the Home2 Suites.

The greater Holland area will have more than 2,000 rooms after the latest projects are complete.

— Austin Metz is a former Holland Sentinel reporter.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Homewood Suites planned for Holland's southside in 2024