May 21—THE HOTEL INDUSTRY took a big hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the room count is starting to rise in several tourist destinations across the Granite State.
The Hampton Inn Lincoln White Mountains opened earlier this month, and a ribbon cutting is set to take place for the new Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott North Conway at Cranmore Mountain on Tuesday.
On the Seacoast, two new hotels are planned in Portsmouth.
A Hyatt Place has been planned near downtown Portsmouth for years, but a new developer is taking over the project. Baywood Hotels, a leading hotel management and development company, purchased 165 Deer St., Lot 3, for $4.25 million from Foundry Place Hotel LLC.
The property is off Maplewood Avenue and adjacent to the Foundry Place Garage.
The five-story building is set to have 117 rooms, a parking garage and ground-level cafe.
Giri Hotel Management is looking to redevelop the Port Inn and Suites at 505 U.S. Route 1 Bypass in Portsmouth into a new five-story, 122-room Cambria Hotel, an upscale brand from Choice Hotels. The company submitted preliminary plans for discussion with the planning board set for last Thursday. Each Cambria features a design inspired by the location. The brand is growing with 65 locations, including Boston and Portland, Maine.
Giri also hopes to open a Starbucks with a drive-thru on the property.
The plans require formal approvals from both the zoning and planning boards.
Hotel sold
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Manchester-Airport has a new owner.
Manchester Hospitality bought the 108-room hotel at 1298 S. Porter St. from the Singer family for $8.5 million. The Singer family was represented by CBRE’s Dave McElroy and Scott Hutchinson of CBRE Hotel Brokerage and Investment Sales.
The new owners plan a complete renovation, according to a news release.
Extended stay stalled
The developers of a proposed five-story, 120-room Home 2 Suites off South River Road in Bedford are asking the planning board for a one-year extension on the project.
Akhil Hotel Group first had the project approved in 2019, but had to go back before the board last year to get reapproved.
“Due to the current economic conditions, construction costs are not prudent to permit financing of the project,” the application reads.
The property was once a church, which was converted to commercial space. The rundown building can be seen from the F.E. Everett Turnpike.
The board is set to consider the request June 12.
If you have an interesting business or commercial real estate story idea email reporter Jonathan Phelps at [email protected].