By Jared Bileski
In the next ten years, visitors to Frederick will have an increased selection of hotels when planning accommodations. Two brand new hotel construction projects are in the works and will offer those visiting more quality choices.
The plans for the two new hotels, the Holiday Inn at FSK and Marriott in downtown Frederick, also include 12 to 14 thousand square foot conference centers.
Both hotels aim to attract more people to Frederick County.
“We want to see them both happen,” says John Fieseler, executive director of the tourism council of Frederick County. Fieseler, also a member of the downtown hotel advisory committee, believes that the two hotels target different markets.
This past November the Frederick County Planning Commission approved part of a plan for a completely refurbished Holiday Inn at FSK Mall. The plan for the hotel, which can be seen from I-270, includes a 205 room tower as well as a 12 thousand square-foot ballroom.
Less than three miles from the Holiday Inn, money has been allocated to build a Marriott Hotel in Downtown Frederick. The Maryland State Legislature recently passed the 2017 capital budget that allots $16 million in funding for the hotel. According to a Facebook page set up by Plamondon Hospitality Partners in support of the downtown hotel project noted that a $1 million grant will be given to the city of Frederick for planning costs, with two $7.5 million grants that follow in the years 2018 and 2019.
The two hotels are in a different scale from the other. According to STR 2015 Chain Scales, the Holiday Inn is currently near the top of Frederick’s hotel offerings, in the “Upper Midscale” class. The Hampton Inn Frederick also falls in this category. The highest ranking hotel in Frederick is the relatively new Courtyard by Marriott, at 5225 Westview Dr, which falls under the “Upscale” category.
“We are always trying to market Frederick as a destination for groups, there are some that won’t stay here because they only stay in nicer hotels,” Fieseler said.
The proposed downtown Marriott would provide Frederick with its first “Upper Upscale” class hotel, which hopes to cater to those looking for nicer accomodations.
Fieseler noted that the proximity to Downtown Frederick is key in some visitors’ choice in accommodation. “Frederick is getting really well known for its restaurants. People want to go to dinner, split a bottle of wine and go back to where they are sleeping without having to drive a car or arrange for transportation.”
Karin Dejong, a frequent guest the Holiday Inn, also said that she would favor a downtown hotel over others. “Frederick’s downtown is so beautiful, I would love to be able to come and park my car and be able to walk everywhere I need to go for the weekend.”
She also says that that Holiday is in need of a facelift. “Many of the rooms don’t even have microwaves right now,” said Dejong. “More competitive hotels need those kinds of amenities in their room, especially if there are more new hotels going up.”
In an article with the Frederick News Post, Holiday Inn owner Randy Cohen said that he has “plans for something remarkable for [the] county.”
The website for the downtown hotel project claims that the Marriot conference center will bring in 280 jobs, and up to $745,000 in local taxes as well as “induced investment in the vicinity” of the hotel.
According to Fieseler, the next step for the downtown hotel project will be to complete a four-party memorandum of understanding between the Maryland Stadium Authority, Frederick City, Frederick County and Plamondon Hospitality Partners in order to secure the first $1 million in funding from the state for the 2017 fiscal year.
“It can be trickier to have four parties do an agreement, but in the end I think it’s the right way to go.” Says Fieseler of the memorandum of understanding. The agreement will be used as a way to keep all four parties on the same page while they plan for the construction of the hotel.
While the Marriott is still in its planning stages, the Holiday Inn has yet do begin construction for its approved projects. It is not clear when construction will begin.
Fieseler agrees that the Holiday Inn needs work. “From the tourism end of it, we think that the Holiday Inn needs to be improved.”
He is very optimistic for the future of hotels in Frederick, though. “Overall, both of these projects will be great for the city and the county.”
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