For nearly 15 years, the capital city of Butler County has seen a renaissance of growth and prosperity, in large part due to corporations relocating to and expanding in Hamilton and the opening of Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill, the largest indoor sports complex in the United States.
However, more needs to be done by the hotel operators, city administration and the business community to ensure Hamilton hotels are set up for success, all groups say.
For about 20 weekends a year, Spooky Nook Sports attracts upwards of tens of thousands of people on a weekend with tournaments. Conferences, such as last year’s Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters and the Alliance for Community Media Central States, draw hundreds of people to the city for a few days.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
But that’s not sustainable for one hotel, much less for what could be five hotels with close to 800 hotel rooms in the next couple of years, city leaders say.
The city has been successful with conferences, bringing in the hotelier association, the state firefighters association, and the regional PEG group, but those are cyclical, coming around once every few years or more.
“The firefighters’ (conference) may not be back for seven years, just because of the cycle of what they do,” said Catherine Rentschler, managing director at the 54-room Well House Hotel, adding referrals from conferences work for conferences. “I have to support tomorrow. I have to support occupancies to get me through. Conferences are amazing, but I have to support the regular weekday... . I don’t want to lose sight of that because it’s the everyday. I can’t sell 12 rooms a night and expect that hotel to succeed.”
Rentschler, who spoke along with others to the Hamilton Vision Commission last week, said she and the other hotel operators in the city want Hamilton administration to involve them as they court new investment to “do whatever we can to put Hamilton’s best foot forward.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“There are great companies in Hamilton — ODW, 80 Acres, etc. — that are placing a lot of great business here, but not enough to support the three hotels that we have," said Rentschler.
The Vision Commission is a volunteer group of citizens, business leaders, nonprofit executives, and longtime and newer Hamiltonians born out of the Vision 2020 Comprehensive Plan a quarter century ago. The group is credited with many Hamilton amenities, such as RiversEdge and the Great Miami Rowing Center.
Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dan Bates, a member of the Vision Commission, said it’s important that those in the business community and the city administration understand the issues that need to be addressed, which starts with communication.
“I think the key is that every time something has really worked in Hamilton, it’s because we all work together, and I think that’s what this is really all about,” he said, adding there needs to be additional conversations with the hotels to address “how we really assist in the hotels and this to be top of mind to an outside market.”
Courtyard by Marriott had been the only hotel for decades, starting when it was the Hamiltonian Hotel. Last year, Dublin-based developer Crawford Hoying and Shaner Hotel Group partnered to acquire the Courtyard.
Cynthia White, director of Sales for the Courtyard Hamilton said the full-service hotel is undergoing a brand-required remodel, which includes an eventual new restaurant operation named Becket Provisions expected to open at the end of the year.
White, who is new to Courtyard Hamilton, said her focus has been on strengthening relationships with businesses and community partners. She also said a goal is to collaborate with all the Hamilton hotel operators for a “sales blitz” in the West Chester and Liberty areas.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“That’s one of our focuses is to bring people into Hamilton to show what it has to offer,” she said.
Tourism in Butler County is growing. The latest county annual economic impact estimate is $1.5 billion, said Travel Butler County President and CEO Tracy Kocher. By comparison, she said neighboring Warren County, which is home to Kings Island and the annual Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, saw a $1.6 billion economic impact in 2023.
“We are definitely doing well,” Kocher said. “Our tourism economy is just more diverse and spread out across the county.”
Butler County receives an estimated 7.2 million visitors a year, according to the state, which Kocher believes is low. Hamilton receives 9.1% of long-distance visitors, and more than 70% of those people are from out of state. Overall, these visitors, who travel more than 50 miles to Hamilton, make up 5% of all spending in the city. Local visitors, people who travel to the city within 50 miles (and does not include people who work or do business in Hamilton) make up 12% of spending.
And more tourism could translate to a lower tax burden on residents.
“If there were no tourism in Butler County, the average household would need to spend $728 in additional tax revenue to offset the public services we use and appreciate,” Kocher said. “The tax base that is generated when somebody comes and stays overnight, or comes for a day, and spends money at a restaurant or a gas station or grocery store, that sales tax offsets the tax burden for our residents.”
This year, it’s expected the Municipal Hotel at 20 High St. will start redevelopment of the former city building, giving Hamilton its second boutique hotel as a Marriott Tribute brand. They will be partnering with Municipal Brew Works, which operates at the rear of the building.
A dual Hilton project — Home2Suites and Hampton Inn & Suites — at the corner of North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and High Street is expected to cost $28.8 million to build and includes a yet-to-be-identified restaurant project.
“I think that developers do their due diligence before they decide where to invest their dollars,” Kocher said. “We can’t take for granted our occupancy and our average daily rate. It’s important for Hamilton to continue to invest in experiences that would cause people to want to come to Hamilton, and for those to be successful, we need to make sure we’re not taking any visitor for granted.”
BUTLER COUNTY HOTEL IMPACT
3,933: Hotel rooms
785: Rooms added since 2019
825,000-plus: Room nights sold in 2024
$102 million-plus: Room revenue in 2024
55.9%: Average hotel occupancy
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