For several years, Geauga County Tourism has fielded the same question: “We are on your website but don’t see your hotel listings,” a question the staff always spins to the positive with information on the lodging opportunities that are available in the county. Choices from the 4-Diamond AAA rated Red Maple Inn Bed and Breakfast to the Punderson Manor House or cabins on the grounds of one of Ohio’s State parks. There’s the newly renovated Bass Lake Inn or the Club at Hillbrook, and of course the several small B & Bs that dot the county, all wonderful choices.
“However, we recognize there are markets we are just not serving without a larger brand hotel, and essentially what that means is money lost to the county and its businesses,” said Lynda Nemeth, Geauga County Tourism Director.
The Tourism office had already begun to identify needs where a larger hotel would bring additional people and revenue to the area, having fielded calls for group tours, reunion groups, retail conventions, and corporate travelers whose needs could not be met. A survey to local industry with the help of Geauga Growth Partnership further identified needs from within Geauga County businesses to house guests visiting their locations.
“Once that survey went out, I had calls from other venues I would not have thought of that also seek familiar, in county lodging,” Nemeth stated. Ironically, during this time two hotels had shown interest in Geauga County, both specifically in Chardon, due to the infrastructure already in place and the abundance of supporting businesses. In order for any hotel to move forward, a Feasibility Study must be done to predict the viability of a hotel in the area.
Hotel & Leisure Advisors (H&LA) were contracted as the third party consultants to do the Feasibility Study. The study was paid for by several community groups (Geauga County Tourism, City of Chardon, Chardon Tomorrow, Chardon Chamber of Commerce, Chardon Square Association, UH Geauga Medical, Burr Funeral Home) coming together to move the project forward.
The study took place over an 8 week period and is very in-depth; analyzing sites, neighborhoods, competitive lodging (40 mile radius), and giving a full projected income and expense analysis. The partners that contracted the study met with the H&LA to review the findings, which show that Chardon is indeed a favorable location for a small limited service hotel.
Since that meeting, interested investors have been identified and the group has begun talking with interested hotel franchises. “The lodging we have in our county now is wonderful,” said Nemeth. “Adding a hotel will just be another option to entice visitors and take us to the next level. If we can keep people in the county overnight, we keep their money as well. According to TourismOhio, on average visitors on a day trip spend $106, while overnight visitors spend $321. There’s no reason they shouldn’t spend that extra money in Geauga County with our local businesses.”
