A new extended stay hotel is being built Prattville. Here's what we know.
PRATTVILLE − A new hotel is being built in Prattville as the lodging business continues to grow across the area.
WoodSpring Suites is building an extended stay hotel on Boardroom Drive, plans on file with the city show. The location is near Interstate 65 and down the street from Launch Trampoline Park. WoodSpring Suites has more than 200 locations nationwide, in 39 states. In Alabama the company has hotels in Birmingham and Madison, according to its website.
Prattville has added to its lodging base over the past five years with four new hotels coming online. The city collects an 8.5 percent lodging tax, with the proceeds going into the operation of the general fund.
The city also has a $2 per room, per night fee, with that money earmarked for capital improvement projects for its parks and recreation department.
In 2020, the city council floated a $4.65 million bond to add more softball fields and improve the existing fields and facilities. The money to pay the bond comes from the room fees.
City officials predict the lodging business in Prattville will see a boom with the opening last spring of Montgomery Whitewater Park. The heart of the hotel corridor in the city is east Prattville, near the interstate, and city officials note it’s a quick trip to Prattville from the park, which is in west Montgomery.
The city of Montgomery currently leads the state in occupancy rate according to Smith Travel Research and is forecast to rise by year's end. Lodging tax revenue is up 7% in the Capital City, said Ron Simmons with Experience Montgomery, a division of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce.
Simmons said two hotels with a total of 273 rooms are currently under construction in downtown Montgomery.
More: Ripple effect: Montgomery Whitewater expected to have $36M annual impact across region
Brad Harper contributed to this report. Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: New extended stay hotel is being built in Prattville
