Nearly 4,000 new hotel rooms planned in Memphis suburbs. Here's what's in the pipeline
The Memphis area's suburban hotel market has almost 4,000 rooms in the pipeline, according to a full-service local hospitality consulting firm.
According to Pinkowski & Company and data gathered from hotel analytics firm STR, there are 3,877 rooms coming from 37 properties in the suburban hotel market pipeline as of January. Those properties are in Collierville, Germantown, Arlington and Lakeland in Shelby County, as well as Southaven, Olive Branch and Hernando in DeSoto County.
The metro Memphis area has 18 hotel projects under construction, including nine properties under development in the suburban hotel markets.
Chuck Pinkowski, owner of Pinkowski & Company, keeps track of local projects coming online or in the works in the metro Memphis area. Pinkowski warned there is no guarantee all those projects in the proposed and planning stages will be built.
“All these properties on our list that aren’t under construction, not all of them may get done," he said.
The nearly 4,000 rooms in the suburban hotel market pipeline are a big increase compared to those in the suburbs' hotel pipeline in 2019 before the pandemic, when there were 1,932 rooms coming from 22 properties, according to Pinkowski. He said even though there are a lot more hotels in the pipeline, that doesn't necessarily mean the market is stronger.
"What it means is there is a greater interest from the development side," Pinkowski said.
He further explained the ongoing construction of Ford's massive BlueOval City project in West Tennessee is influencing different economic sectors, including the hotel industry in the suburban areas.
“A lot of growth in the suburbs is driven by BlueOval, and it’s amazing the impact that is having on either side of I-40 between Memphis and Jackson,” Pinkowski said. “Every small town in West Tennessee that is close to I-40 is seeing development. When you look at the BlueOval, needing 5,000 employees that is a lot of people as well as a lot of houses, shopping centers, grocery stores and schools. It’s all those things that go with that population increase and hotels are part of that.”
Wayne Tabor, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel and Lodging Association, said one of the things that is starting to drive the suburban hotel market is people visiting the Memphis area are more willing to stay outside of the traditional Downtown Memphis or East Memphis markets.
"They're looking for new venues (hotels) to stay at, and they have to be at venues that are close to their interest," Tabor said. "For instance, if it's commercial or corporate, it is people looking to be near an office or an area that they are coming to stay at. In the past, people used to want to be around areas that had restaurants and hotels or other venues that they could visit while they were here and make it more convenient for them to stay in their area. Cities like Germantown are doing a pretty good job of having restaurants, movie theaters and other things people can do in the Memphis market."
Tabor said hotel developers also have a high interest at going into the Memphis suburbs because those areas have worked to add more businesses and make their cities or towns more attractive to hotel developers by making it worthwhile to do business in those areas.
"The city of Germantown, the city of Collierville or the DeSoto County people make it easy to do business with," he said. "What I mean is they might give them tax breaks or don't tax them real high.
"They make sure the police focus on crime in those neighborhoods, and they do what they can to keep traffic at a minimum. They also build up their infrastructure where the guests coming to stay are comfortable and can do other things, while they are there."
Here is a closer look at the hotels Pinkowski is tracking in each Memphis suburb.
Shelby County real estate: Which Memphis suburb has the highest median home price? Here's how they rank
Collierville
Collierville has six properties totaling 586 rooms in the hotel pipeline.
Under construction
110-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott hotel within the Schilling Farms Water Tower District: Tentative 2024 opening
85-room Holiday Inn Express, an IHG hotel, Houston Levee/385: Tentative 2025 opening
Proposed stage
109-room select service hotel (unknown brand), Porter Farms: Tentative opening 2025
88-room premium brand soft collection (unknown brand), Collierville Square: Tentative opening 2025 (A premium brand soft collection hotel would be something like a Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection hotels by Hilton or Tribute Portfolio by Marriott)
90-room unknown brand, Houston Levee/385: Tentative opening date unknown
Planning stage
104-room Home2 Suites by Hilton, Houston Levee/385: Tentative opening 2025
Germantown
Germantown has two properties totaling 234 rooms in the hotel pipeline.
Under construction
114-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Germantown Road and Neshoba Road in the Thornwood development: Tentative opening March 2024
Proposed stage
120-room national brand upper upscale full-service hotel, Poplar and Kirby Parkway at The Standard Germantown project (formerly Carrefour): Tentative opening date unknown
Arlington
Arlington has three properties totaling 370 rooms in the hotel pipeline.
Under construction
124-room SpringHill Suites by Marriot, 4921 Fair Springs Cove, Arlington: Tentative opening February 2024
Planning stage
96-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites, an IHG hotel, Airline Road and Milton Wilson Boulevard: Tentative opening 2024
Proposed stage
150-room dual brand hotel, I-40 and Airline Road: Tentative opening unknown
Lakeland
Lakeland has three properties totaling 370 rooms in the hotel pipeline.
Proposed stage
110-room Home2 Suites by Hilton, South of Lake District: Tentative opening 2025
110-room unknown brand hotel, Lake District: Tentative opening unknown
150-room unknown brand, Lake District: Tentative opening unknown
DeSoto County's hotel market still strong
According to Pinkowski, DeSoto County’s hotel market continues to be strong with new development in the works. Tabor said what's happening in DeSoto, especially with areas like Silo Square in Southaven, is impacting the Memphis tourism sector.
"It's competitive and it competes with our Memphis lodging or hospitality industry," he said. "If they're staying in an East Memphis hotel or in Germantown, Collierville, Downtown (Memphis) or in Midtown (Memphis), then they would be going to restaurants and other venues around those hotels. When they stay in those other markets, they go there. There are a lot of businesses that put their visiting people in that Mississippi market because of all the things they have going down there."
The hotel pipeline list shows Southaven with 10 properties totaling 1,070 rooms, while Olive Branch has 10 properties totaling 987 rooms and Hernando with three properties totaling 260 rooms.
SOUTHAVEN DEVELOPMENT: What's coming to Southaven's Silo Square in 2024? Restaurants, retail and a hotel
Southaven
Under construction
94-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott, Silo Square: Tentative April 2024 opening
93-room Tru by Hilton, 7235 Sleepy Hollow Drive: Tentative July 2024 opening
Proposed stage
240-room Embassy Suites by Hilton, Landers Center: Tentative 2026 opening
Planning stage
128-room Spring Hill Suites by Marriott, Airways south of Goodman Road: Tentative 2025 opening
122-room Woodspring Suite by Choice Hotels, 125 Towne Center Loop: Tentative opening unknown
40-room Sleep Inn by Choice Hotels, Plum Point Avenue and Airways Building A: Tentative 2025 opening
108-room Home2 Suites by Hilton, Silo Square: Tentative 2026 opening
30-room Mainstay by Choice Hotels, Plum Point Avenue and Airways Building B: Tentative 2025 opening
109-room Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton, Snowden Grove – Getwell Road and Goodman Road: Tentative 2025 opening
106-room Staybridge Suites, an IHG hotel, Airways and Town Square: Tentative 2025 opening
Olive Branch
Under construction
78-room La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham, Craft Road and Goodman Road: Tentative November 2024 opening
Planning stage
108-room Homewood Suites by Hilton, 6830 Crumpler Boulevard: Tentative 2026 opening
90-room Motel 6/Studio 6 by Accor, northwest quadrant of Lodging Lane: Tentative 2025 opening
108-room Residence Inn by Marriott, U.S. 78 and Craft Road: Tentative 2025 opening
90-room Tru by Hilton, northeast quadrant of Craft Road and Goodman Road: Tentative 2026 opening
Proposed stage
92-room Holiday Inn Express, an IHG hotel, no site identified: Tentative 2029 opening
105-room Courtyard by Marriott, Camp Creek Parkway & Old Highway 78: Tentative 2025 opening
99-room Select service hotel (unknown brand), Camp Creek Parkway and Old Highway 78: Tentative 2024 opening
111-room extended stay hotel (unknown brand), U.S. 78 and Craft Road: Tentative 2024 opening
106-room Staybridge Hotel, an IHG hotel, U.S. 78 and Craft Road: Tentative 2025 opening
Hernando
Under construction
96-room Holiday Inn Express, an IHG hotel, Creekside Boulevard and McIngvale Road: Tentative 2024 opening
81-room Home2 Suites by Hilton, East Commerce Street: Tentative 2025 opening
Planning stage
83-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, East Commerce and McIngvale Road: Tentative 2025 opening
Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis suburbs could see almost 4,000 new hotel rooms: What's planned