Just five miles north of Redmond Airport, developers are polishing plans to open a SpringHill Suites in 2021.

This will be the third new hotel for the Redmond community, in addition to the renovation of the New Redmond Hotel in downtown. The SpringHill Suites will add an additional 113 rooms to the inventory, and the Hampton Inn, going up by Frank’s Landing off U.S. Highway 97, is under construction.

“As Redmond and Central Oregon continue to grow, new lodging properties are needed to meet the demand of both leisure and business travelers,” said Eric Sande, Redmond Chamber of Commerce executive director. “Redmond is a growing market, and the new hotels are a direct response to the consumer demand.”

Visit Central Oregon estimates there are more than 4.5 million overnight visitors per year in Central Oregon, said Keith Witcosky, Redmond city manager. It’s that kind of number combined with about 85% hotel occupancy during peak summer season in Bend that attracts new hotels.

“The growth in Redmond rooms is a significant economic marker,” Witcosky said. “We had plateaued at around 550 hotel rooms since 2009, and now that number could double over the next two to three years. The hospitality industry clearly finds Redmond attractive.

“It demonstrates Redmond is becoming a Central Oregon destination in our own right.”

In the past year, Redmond’s airport passenger count topped out at a million coming and going on 28 daily flights. That’s made Redmond and Central Oregon attractive to investors, Witcosky said.

Liz Dahlager, vice president of market intelligence for Merete Hotel Management, which will operate the SpringHill Suites hotel, couldn’t agree more. Merete is no stranger to Central Oregon. It is developing two hotels in Bend, the Element on NW Wall Street and the Holiday Inn Express in southeast Bend. The Springfield, Oregon-based company operates 16 properties throughout the Pacific Northwest.

“The Redmond market has a lot of economy and midscale properties, but not a lot of upscale,” Dahlager said. “We feel there’s a market demographic that isn’t currently being met with the current inventory.”

The hotel will be located at 1908 NW Canal Blvd. in Redmond and owned by Redport LLC. Sycan B will develop the property, and Merete will operate the hotel under a license agreement with Marriott International.

It will offer airport shuttle service and will feature an onsite bar.

In 2018, the city announced that Heritage Hospitality Group plans to build a 120-room Woodspring Suites and a 105-room Hampton Inn on the 4-acre parcel near the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. The Hampton’s foundation has been completed, Witcosky said. The second hotel on the site will begin construction once the Hampton opens.

“The Deschutes County fairgrounds was a consideration and was a piece of our business plan,” Dahlager said. “We looked at airport traffic. We took it all into consideration. We’re not concerned about saturation.”