City focus: Atlanta shows promising hotel projects overview
The city of Atlanta is looking forward to welcome more than 39 new hotels in the next couple of years. (Photo: Ronny Sison)
We take a look at the TOPHOTELCONSTRUCTION database to see what’s going on in Atlanta’s pipeline and have a look at projects worth watching.
It’s all systems go in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the most important cities in the US right now in terms of its hotel development pipeline.
We take a deep dive into hospitality movement in Atlanta and highlight some of the largest and most interesting projects we can expect to see in the city soon.
New decade in Atlanta gets off with a bang
Studying figures from the TOPHOTELCONSTRUCTION database reveals a lot about the health of a city’s hospitality industry and based on statistics and projections pulled from the database, it appears that Atlanta, Georgia is doing well as the year draws to a close.
The city currently has 39 projects in the pipeline, all of which are in the upscale segment of the hospitality industry, with 32 projects categorised as 4-star, and the remaining seven as 5-star. A total of 8,394 additional rooms will be brought to the city through these developments, and this is in line with Atlanta’s growth as a popular commerce and tourist destination.
The openings are due to take place in earnest in the first, second and third years of the coming decade, with nine hotels opening in 2020, 17 in 2021 and 13 in 2022 and beyond.
Brands and timelines
The biggest brands in Atlanta offer guests a mixture of full service, extended and short stay and wellness and lifestyle experiences. Even Hotels, a wellness and lifestyle brand by IHG, has two properties in the pipeline, as does Embassy Suites by Hilton, a full service hotel. Element Hotels, a short and long term extended stay property, looks forward to operating four properties in Atlanta in the near future.
The majority of the 39 scheduled hotels are currently in the planning phase (16), while 13 properties are under construction at the moment. Eight are in the pre-planning stage, while two hotels are in the pre-opening and visions stages, one in each phase.
Largest Project: Signa Hilton Atlanta
The luxury 5-star hotel is going to be the first Signia Hilton to be built from the ground up, slated to open in 2022. It will bring 975 guest rooms to the downtown area, and is a key component of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority’s 2020 Vision strategic plan. The hotel will be beside the Georgia World Congress Center as well as the Mercedes Benz Stadium. It will focus on the meetings and events sector, and take the form of a tower rising up from the lower levels of the complex.
Notable projects
The Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel Downtown Atlanta will be a 197-key 4-star property located in the city’s downtown arts district. Designed to engage the local community, the highlights of the hotel will include a bustling lobby bar open to the public, a rooftop pool and terrace and a number of Hard Rock branded elements, including the Rock Spa, Body Rock fitness facility and the Rock Shop, where Hard Rock merch can be purchased.
The Element Buckhead is a 4-star hotel currently under construction located beside the new Mill Creek Residential apartment development. The hotel will boast 166 rooms geared specifically towards business travelers, who will be able to avail of the ample meeting, conference and events facilities located on site. The hotel is due to open at the end of 2020.
The Motto by Hilton Atlanta Old Fourth Ward is part of Waldo’s, a mixed-use development which will include a speakeasy, a full-service restaurant and food stalls in the courtyard. Currently under construction, the Motto will welcome guests in the first quarter of 2021, and will be a 4-star upscale property boasting 146 rooms. Guests will have direct access to the complex’s entertainment, retail and F&B facilities.
