Mid-America to build new 80-room hotel in Cape Girardeau

Midamerica Hotels Corp. will construct a new Hampton Inn in Cape Girardeau next year. The 80-room hotel will be on the south side of the company's Park West Hospitality Center at Interstate 55 and William Street.

The complex already includes the Holiday Inn Express and Auburn Place Hotel, both operated by Midamerica Hotels Corp.

The new hotel, which brings Midamerica's number of hotel rooms in Cape Girardeau from 235 to 315, is scheduled to open in 2014, said John Echimovich, director of operations for the hotel division of Midamerica. The new hotel will bring the number of hotel rooms in Cape Girardeau to 986.

The Isle of Capri casino, new retail developments and the recently announced $127 million renovation and expansion project at Saint Francis Medical Center all motivated the company's decision to expand its hotel offerings in Cape Girardeau.

"All the different developments and things happening within Cape, there are amazing things happening. It's a great opportunity to move forward," Echimovich said.

Midamerica Hotels already owns and operates a Hampton Inn & Suites in St. Louis just south of Interstate 55 and Butler Hill Road. That hotel opened in November 2010.

A third hotel in its Park West Hospitality Center won't compete with its existing hotel properties, Echimovich said. Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express have different groups of loyal followers, he said. They also have different loyalty programs. Holiday Inn Express is affiliated with the Intercontinental Hotels Group Priority Club loyalty program. The Hampton Inn brand participates in the Hilton Honors loyalty program.

Hampton Inn also tends to have more business travelers during the week, while Holiday Inn Express is stronger with weekend leisure travelers, Echimovich said.

Cape Girardeau already has one Hampton Inn, operated by Drury Hotels, at 103 Cape West Parkway.

Midamerica Hotels and Drury Hotels are separate companies that are operated by members of the same family. Dan Drury is president of Midamerica Hotels.

Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau director Chuck Martin said the new hotel will bring needed additional lodging capacity.

"Summertime weekends especially are a challenge at times with some of the sports tournaments. We have worked as creatively as we can to not inconvenience people, that we don't have two events of major size occurring at the same time," Martin said.

The new Hampton Inn will be a welcome addition, especially with the new casino coming online, he said.

Additional hotel rooms will also give a boost to the city's hotel tax receipts, although Martin said it would be difficult to predict just how much additional revenue the new hotel will generate.

Other businesses in the Park West Hospitality Center where the Hampton Inn will be built include Plaza Conference Center by Ray's, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Popeyes Chicken, Panera Bread, Honey Baked Ham & Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Texas Roadhouse, Pendleton and Coldwater Creek.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

Interstate 55 and William Street, Cape Girardeau, MO