Tri-Cities newest hotel ready to open in a week despite coronavirus outbreak
A new hotel is opening in Kennewick’s Southridge neighborhood after a dozen years in the making.
The 94-room Comfort Suites starts taking bookings June 1 at its recently finished building at 3703 Plaza Way in Kennewick.
It’s just off Highway 395 near Southridge High School, Trios Southridge Hospital, Canyon Lakes Golf Course and several restaurants.
“We’re delighted to open the new Comfort Suites Kennewick,” said Tonya Dundas, vice president of operations with Spokane-based Hospitality Associates which is operating the hotel.
“The hotel is premiering during a time when hospitality means respecting space while providing a caring and clean hotel. We know our guests will feel safe and comfortable while enjoying our upscaled features and Tri-Cities hospitality at its finest,” she said in a release.
The hotel features a 24-hour pool and spa, fitness center, meeting space and a hot breakfast and evening cookies.
The rooms feature complimentary high-speed wi-fi, secured hard-wired internet access along with a lighted desk area, USB plug-ins and sofa sleepers.
Even though lodging was never closed by the state during Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home orders that started in March, it was one of the hardest hit industries.
Across the board, the hours for hotel employees have been cut in half leading to widespread layoffs, said Gurbir Sandhu, a managing member of Ignite Hotels that represents the Red Lion Hotel in Kennewick.
This is a step back for the $90 million business that employed more than 1,100 people throughout Benton and Franklin counties in 2018.
Visitors that year spent an estimated $560 million in the Tri-Cities and booked 458,000 rooms, according to Visit Tri-Cities.
And hotel/motel taxes generated more than $1.5 million for local communities.
The Comfort Suites project’s history stretches back to November 2008 when Integrity Developers applied to build the hotel as a Comfort Suites. While permits were approved in January 2009, work never started.
In 2012, the project remained one of the markee projects in the Southridge area, which was transforming from a barren area into a commercial and residential hub.
The property changed hands several times before selling for $1.1 million in 2016, according to Benton County assessor records. The new owners, Kennewick Hotel Operations Inc., submitted a new building permit a year later.
Earlier this year, a $10 million hotel opened near the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, making it the first of three new hotels under construction in Tri-Cities by other developers.
Altogether the projects will add more than 300 rooms to the market. The third project is south of Columbia Center mall along Highway 240.
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 12:57 PM.