Two Southlands hotels set to open before 2020

“There’s been a tremendous amount of investment in that corner of town, it’s really transformed the town and it’s fantastic for Medicine Hat,” says Jon Sookocheff, Invest Medicine Hat.

The Braemar Group has been developing 4.34 acres of land into a 110 room Marriot TownPlace Suites Hotel.

Just next door, Sun City Hotels is building a 120 suite Best Western Premier Executive Residency Inn.

Courtesy: Bob Schneider

When the hotels were first announced, there was some doubt they’ll be successful, but Sookocheff says they will be.

“We know there’s a lot of renewable energy projects in the region and work crews need places to stay,” says Sookocheff. “The icing on top is that the cannabis industry has selected Medicine Hat and although those are temporary construction requirements, the hotels support high way travellers and industry that’s coming to this corner of the province.”

Medicine Hat has added nearly 1000 jobs in the last year, keeping other hotels in the city busy much of the time.

However, industry workers aren’t the only ones using them, athletes and spectators come into Medicine Hat for major sporting events, sometimes overwhelming the local hotels.

“Lots of times we’ll have major events on the same weekend, or we’ll have a large event where we don’t have enough rooms, so we’re finding that people are going to Elkwater, Brooks, Taber, even Swift Current sometimes. So now having these options and keeping that local is great for our economy and great for these hotels,” says Kara Brake, sport and event coordinator with the Medicine Hat sport and Event Council.

Not only will the hotels accommodate more people within the city, Brake says they could be opening up doors for future events.

“The more events we host, the more we get on the radar of these national organizations. Hockey Canada, if you host a good event they’ll keep coming back to you and that’s what we want in Medicine Hat,” says Brake. “We want to keep posting events, we want more things coming, we want to get our name on the map to host great events.”

These aren’t the only new hotel developments, last year, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites and the Comfort Inn & Suites unveiled newly renovated properties, while developers recently announced plans to build a boutique hotel at 603 1st street.

Mariott TownePlace Suits will likely be completed by the Fall, while the Best Western is set to open on December 15.

by Jessie Weisner

Two Southlands hotels set to open before 2020

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