A national hotel chain is interested in building a 51-room hotel in Cedarburg, but will first require the city to fund a $7,000 market study.
AmericInn, which is based in Chanhassen, Minn., but operates 39 AmericInns in Wisconsin, is looking at several properties on Pioneer Road as possible locations for the $4.6 to $5 million hotel. However, before committing to the development, the chain has asked the city to enter into an agreement with Oshkosh-based Hotel R&D, LLC for a 60-day feasibility study, since Cedarburg is considered a secondary market for hotels.
AmericInn’s plan, however, may not work.
In December the city’s Economic Development board made a recommendation that the City Council move forward with a hotel feasibility study. The council will vote Jan. 25 whether or not to do so.
Since word has gotten out that Cedarburg would be open to a hotel, Cobblestone Hotels, a regional brand that operates 13 properties in Wisconsin, and national hotel chain Best Western have contacted the city, said Christy Mertes, Cedarberg city administrator.
A feasibility study pinpoint best location for a hotel and ensure a hotel wouldn’t negatively affect the business of the city’s three existing bed and breakfasts, Mertes said. Other than the B&Bs, Cedarburg does not have a hotel.
“This is a new topic for us,” Mertes said.
Lindsey Kaptur, with Hospitality Marketers International, Inc., completed a study for the village of Thiensville in 2014 and found a 70-room boutique hotel would work well in that community, so a small hotel likely could succeed in Cedarburg, she said.
“Thiensville is a small town, but has spill over sources of demand – Concordia University, the Cedarburg festivals, a large Harley dealership with a lot of big events, so like Cedarburg, the hotel itself would be part of people’s time there,” Kaptur said. “ I think as long as the hotel isn’t overbuilt, it would do well.”
