Nashville’s tourism boom fuelling hotel development

According to Tourism Economics figures quoted by the Nashville Convention & Visitors’ Corporation, 2022 traveller numbers are expected to top 14.4 million, topping the previous high of 14.1 million in 2019.

Hotel bounceback

Reflecting this boom, hotel development is also on the up in Tennessee’s state capital. The corporation cites figures from STR and NCVC detailing that 50 new hotel properties are in various stages of development within Davidson County, and that in the next two years, Nashville is preparing to open 6,661 rooms.

For comparison, the corporation detailed that from 2016 to 2018, almost 6,000 hotel rooms opened in Nashville, and more than 6,500 hotel rooms have opened since 2019. According to this data, within Nashville Davidson County the overall portfolio currently stands at 261 hotels comprising 38,120 rooms.

High end heights

In the high end hotel segment, the TOPHOTELPROJECTS database shows that at least 28 projects are underway, totalling 6,228 keys. The vast majority of these – 79%/22 projects are within the upscale sector, with the remaining 21%/six sites being luxury builds.

The pipeline peak for these premier properties is 2023, with eight completions scheduled, closely followed by 2024 with seven. Just two more sites are due to open by the end of this year, while the remaining 11 are either currently without a delivery date or will appear in 2025 or beyond.

Brands to watch

Only two brands have more than a single site slated for the city, and both are from the Hilton Worldwide stable. Scheduling a pair apiece are Tempo by Hilton and Tapestry Collection by Hilton.

One of these is Tempo by Hilton Nashville Downtown, a 306-room property located next to the forthcoming Nashville Yards development. The hotel will house 12,000 sq ft of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, a 2,000-sq-ft, state-of-the-art fitness centre, a vast outdoor pool and bar, event lawn, and a fifth-floor sky lobby with expansive views of downtown Nashville and Nashville Yards.

The site will also offer a variety of food and beverage experiences, including a ground-floor Bluestone Lane café with indoor and outdoor patio seating, the first in the Nashville market, a fifth-floor lobby bar and lounge with shareable New American dishes and an outdoor pool bar offering a Mediterranean-inspired menu and specialty cocktails. It is due for completion in Q2 2024.

Green edition

From the Marriott International portfolio, another major development is the 281-key Edition Hotel Nashville. Scheduled to open in Q1 2024, the luxury hotel seeks to embrace the urban nature of the surrounding Gulch neighbourhood while setting itself apart from other developments. Plant life will be a key exterior feature of the 16-storey hotel, an offering for guests seeking biophilic spaces within the city where greenery is less prevalent.

Material selection is crucial to how the project presents itself, with brass-toned metal and varying masonry aimed at creating an inviting and warm entry. Seeking LEED Certification, the hotel will also include meeting space, rooftop pool and bar, spa/fitness facility and private bar and lounge retail.