New hotels are popping up in Polk County
By Frances McMorris
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 6, 2016

Polk County is expected to welcome three new hotels in the next 12 months.

The Holiday Inn Express and Suites on 3405 South Florida Ave. in Lakeland recently celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 1. It is one of three Lakeland-area facilities slated to open in a 12-month period. The Holiday Inn is bringing 80 more beds to the marketplace, and a number of jobs.

"At full capacity, we'll employ up to 40 people,” said Jose Rivera, the general manager of the property.

Other hotels slated to come to Lakeland this year include a TownPlace Suites by Marriott on US 98 North at the Interstate 4 junction, and a Home2 Suites by Hilton in the Lakeside Village area.

These two properties, along with the Holiday Inn and Suites, will bring nearly 300 additional beds and jobs to the area. A fourth – an Extended Stay Hilton Garden at Lakeland-Linder Airport – is expected to break ground within the next year.

Rising occupancy rates are prompting the building of the new hotels. Local officials say this is the first in a wave of new development, spurred by Polk County's growing tourism industry. According to the latest figures from hotel industry supply-and-demand tracker STR, hotel occupancy is up 7.6 percent over last year, with revenue per room up 17.1 percent. There are some 16 more facilities planned in the coming years.

Additionally, the Winter Haven area has up to six possible projects are in the works, including Legoland's Beach Retreat property slated to open in mid-2017. The hotel is comprised of 83 single-story duplex units. Three other projects have closed on their respective properties and will consist of approximately 295 additional rooms when completed. Another three additional projects also are in the planning stages.

Hotel projects are proposed for both Haines City and Lake Wales. Auburndale – a nontraditional center of tourism – currently has three different hotel projects in various phases.

Finally, the USA Water Ski Foundation Hall of Fame and Museum is slated to move to the Lake Myrtle Sports Park, where a training center and a cable water ski/wakeboard park will also be built.

"We think two of the best investments we could have made with tourism dollars were The Lakeland Center and Tigertown,” Mark Jackson, director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing, said. "Having two state-of-the-art facilities in this town will bring more visitors, which in turn, brings more jobs.” Polk County is reinvesting funds from the 5 percent bed tax on hotel and vacation rentals into the community. Some $7 million is being put toward in the repurposing of the Lakeland Center and $14.6 million is being invested in the redevelopment of Tigertown, the spring training camp of the Detroit Tigers.

Frances is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.