What a recent $7M sale near Liberty Center says about the area hotel industry

A four-story extended-stay hotel that recently sold in Liberty Twp. is part of a growing trend of new hotels aimed at luring millenials and a “next generation of travelers.”

Home2Suites by Hilton in Liberty Twp. sold for more than $7.2 million on March 5, changing hands from Liberty Centre LP to PHVIF II Liberty, according to the Butler County Auditor’s Office.

The 66,000-square-foot, four-story extended-stay hotel opened at 7145 Liberty Centre Drive in 2016 and marked the chain’s first Ohio location.

Situated on 2.4 acres, the Home2 Suites is less than a mile from the $350 million Liberty Center retail development and Cincinnati Children’s Liberty Campus.

Home2 Suites by Hilton’s Liberty Twp. location was the first for the brand in Ohio. It offers 92 suites equipped with full-sized kitchens flatware, mobile work stations and media hubs, among other amenities.

It also features barbecue grills and fire pits in patio areas, an indoor, heated saline pool and combined laundry-and-fitness area Spin2 Cycle Center.

Also featured are a work-and-socialize Oasis lobby/gathering area, a 24-hour business center and 1,000 square feet of meeting space.

A selection of breakfast fare is geared toward the health-conscious and also includes organic and gluten-free options and a Home2 MKT store offers grab-and-go snacks, beverages, toiletries and frozen meals.

Also featured are a work-and-socialize Oasis lobby/gathering area, a 24-hour business center and 1,000 square feet of meeting space.

Those numerous options are aimed at making the hotel “hip and trendy” for young adults as well, general manager Telma Avelar previously told the Journal-News.

Such amenities also offer millennials and other guests the trappings of home beyond the capacity of a traditional hotel.

“That’s the whole concept of Home2 (doing) everything that we can possibly do for the guests to make them feel like they’re home,” she said. “That’s not something easy, especially when you’re away from home for 10-plus nights.”

Another hotel seeking to break the mold when it comes to a more tried-and-true hotel formula is the 116-room Aloft hotel, now under construction at the corner of Centre Pointe Drive and Muhlhauser Road just west of the Union Centre Boulevard exit in West Chester Twp.

The hotel, Southwest Ohio’s first Aloft hotel, is expected to open this September, according to The Witness Group, which invests, builds and manages hotels and real estate.

The Aloft brand delivers a fresh approach to the traditional and somewhat staid hotel landscape, Paige Francis, vice president of Global Brand Management for Aloft, previously told this news outlet.

“For the always on next generation of traveler, the Aloft brand offers a tech-forward, vibrant experience and a modern style that is different by design,” she said.

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