Due to its vibrant country music scene, Nashville, Tenn., is known to many as “Music City.” However, this booming metropolis is home to more than just successful singers and songwriters. Health care, banking, insurance, and religious printing and publishing companies all have a strong presence in Tennessee’s capital. Meanwhile, tourist attractions like the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum and a full-scale replica of Greece’s Parthenon, and the highly rated ABC show Nashville—which depicts a cutthroat and flashy country music industry—are bringing even more travelers to the city limits.
Nashville is also home to big events like Music Fest and the Country Music Association Awards, resulting in a major pull for leisure and corporate travel throughout the year. Typically, the Nashville hospitality community sees weekly occupancy above 70 percent, generating demand from the business and group market segments Monday through Thursday and the leisure segment Friday through Sunday.
And, as the fourth-largest city in southeastern United States, Nashville is a major hub for business, group, and leisure travelers. With that in mind, it is no surprise that major brands like Westin, Omni, Trump, Virgin, and Kimpton are all developing properties in the Athens of the South.
Even with a robust pipeline, Nashville developers aren’t concerned with reaching market saturation quite yet. “The Nashville market has the capacity for even more properties because of its breadth of market segmentation,” says Scott Smith, senior vice president at PKF Consulting. “The strong economy and wealth of tourist attractions are able to accommodate new additions to supply for the next two to three years.” Early in 2015, Nashville had 330 operating hotels with 39,173 rooms. In the second quarter, the city had 60 properties in the pipeline, which could potentially bring 8,413 new rooms to the market. If all projects in the pipeline are built out and completed, it is projected that Nashville will see a growth rate of 21.5 percent.
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STRAIGHT TALK ON NASHVILLE
21c Museum Hotels is committed to revitalizing historic properties through contemporary art museums and hotels. Currently, the brand has four open locations and five more under development—including a Nashville property due to open in early 2017. Craig Greenberg, president of 21c, dishes on the why Nashville is a perfect location for a 21c hotel.
» “Travelers today are looking for a unique, localized experience. The hotel they choose is more than just a comfortable bed—it’s a venue for entertainment. Nashville provides the fun and electric energy that will add to someone’s trip, whether it’s business or pleasure.”
» “We’re look forward to coming together with the local culture, revitalizing the historic area in which we’ve chosen a location, and contributing a contemporary art museum that is free and open to the public.”
» “When looking for an area to develop a new hotel in, we want an area where we can help contribute to the growth and renaissance of that city. Cities that are continuing to grow, like Nashville, are especially special to tap into.“
The advice is rather unique