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Construction to Start Soon on New Hotel in Downtown Bristol

Construction on a new boutique hotel in downtown Bristol could begin soon. The Virginia-based developers, Creative Boutique Hotels, told us they've bought two of the properties they'll use for The Sessions Hotel. They purchased the old Owen Equipment Company building and Jobbers Candy Company building.

They still have to close the deals for the old Simply Grand Flour mill building and the KSS Instructional Aid store. We're told those purchases should be finalized by the beginning of next week.

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Creative Boutique Hotels, LLC Secures First Tourism Governor’s Grant

St. Paul, Virginia - Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that the first recipient of the Virginia Tourism Growth Fund (VTGF) will be the Western Front Hotel in St. Paul, Virginia. The VTGF is a Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) program established to grow tourism development projects across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The grant is a partnership between the State of Virginia, the Town of St. Paul and the developers. The grant awarded was for $250,000. 

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Investors Bet on Boutique and Lifestyle Hotels

bouqitueindyThe numbers paint a rosy picture for developers and owners who want to dip their toes in the boutique, lifestyle, and soft brand segments. Collectively, these arenas are an $11.5 billion industry and growing, according to a report by The Highland Group.

Demand has increased for boutique, lifestyle, and soft brand hotels over the past six years, clearly since the recession, says Kim Bardoul, a consultant with the Atlanta-based hotel consultancy group and co-author of the 2015 report. For example, with lifestyle properties 300 rooms and under, demand grew at an annual average pace of nearly 20 percent from 2009 through 2014—far above the rate of overall U.S. hotel demand growth of 4.2 percent, the report shows.

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