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US: A new boutique hotel planned for Chattanooga’s Southside will target the millennial market.
The Kinley Hotel, a four-level, 64-room property will go up on what’s now a parking lot across Market Street from the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
Ross Edwards, vice president of development and construction for Chattanooga-based Vision Hospitality Group, said: “It’s catering to a new generation of folks.”
Work on the multimillion-dollar project will begin in spring 2019 and is scheduled to open about a year later.
When discussing the hotel, Edwards said it will be: “A vibrant lodging opportunity. We want it to be central to the community and neighbourhood.”
Amy Donahue, director of marketing and communications for the non-profit downtown redevelopment group River City Co., said: “If you think about it, of all the hotels downtown, the majority are concentrated on the riverfront or the city centre.”
Donahue said hotels on the Southside appear geared toward travellers who often aren’t interested in family activities.
She said: “They want to stay where there’s local flair. That’s a great option.”
The Chattanooga Choo Choo, which is undergoing a vast redevelopment, has added apartments, more restaurants and entertainment venues and cut the number of its hotel rooms from 363 to 130 over the past two decades.
According to research, Edwards said: “The younger generation is less about material types of things and more about the experience and travel.”
Edwards said the Kinley’s speakeasy will be open to the general public as well as hotel guests.
The Kinley is a new brand created by Vision Hospitality. The hotel in the Chattanooga location will be Vision’s second, following the brand’s first hotel that is under construction in Cincinnati.
Edwards said: “We’re in the process of rolling out a handful.”
Kinley guests can use Marriott’s reservations system and rewards points.
