In Minneapolis-St. Paul, Graves Hospitality is planning a $115 million hotel with a spa, rooftop suites, and as much as 40,000 square feet of meeting space. The 300-room property, attached to the airport’s primary Terminal 1, will command rates that are 15 percent to 30 percent higher than local competing properties, at $225-$250 per night, said Benjamin Graves, president and chief executive.
“The primary business is corporations that are dealing with mid- to high-end travelers that fly in, go to a meeting; they don’t have to get a taxi, they don’t have to figure out the market and how to get different places,” Graves said. Graves Hospitality is negotiating with a trio of major chains—Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, and InterContinental Hotel Group—about which will brand and operate the property, which is scheduled to open in January 2018.
Other than in Vancouver, Canada has a similar dearth of full-service accommodations at airports. The upscale Fairmont Hotel at Vancouver Airport has been something of an anomaly for both airports and the hotel industry since its 1999 opening. (The hotel says it is the only airport hotel in the world to make the Top 100 Gold List of properties compiled by Conde Nast.) Graves said the Fairmont’s success has caused developers to take notice.
“Go to any airport,, and there’s a zillion hotels within two miles,” Morse said. “To really do this right, you’ve got to be physically connected.” And at many airports, a day spa doesn't hurt either.