OTO Development plans to build two hotels on a 5-acre plot in Columbia, adding to the slew of hotels making their way down the planning pipeline.
“We think Columbia is a very vibrant city. We are excited about the amount of growth we have seen there recently,” said John Coleman, a real estate manager with OTO Development, which owns and operates hotels.
A 124-room Hilton Hampton Inn Suites and a 117-room Marriott SpringHill Suites are planned for the site at Minstrel Way and Snowden River Parkway. The company expects to begin construction by the end of the year and open about a year later, Coleman said.
“There seems to be no market limit to the number of hotels being planned or built in Howard County,” said Dick Story, Chief Executive Officer of the Howard County Economic Development Authority.
These planned hotels are two of seven or eight in the final planning stages, and several others have opened, Story said.
But the hotels in Howard are often booked Monday through Thursday, making Columbia a “great opportunity,” Coleman said.
Finding a chunk of land in Columbia big enough for building a hotel is tough, as General GrowthProperties Inc. owns most of Columbia, he said. When the land was available, the company jumped at the opportunity.
Like these two planned hotels, many cater to both short- and long-term business travelers.
The demand for long-term hotels has grown as several companies with headquarters in Howard bring workers in town for weeks-long training sessions, Story said.
Howard County Tourism Inc. has been trying to bring more business travelers to the county and is working to make it easier for larger groups to book hotels through the organization?s Web site, Executive Director Rachelina Bonacci said.
She agreed that hotels are often booked through the week with business travelers and busy with social events such as weddings on the weekends.
“The hotel industry seems to be very healthy in Howard County right now,” she said.
