The Steamboat Pilot & Today

The Missouri-based owner of the Hampton Inn and Suites in Steamboat Springs has found a way to add five new hotel suites without expanding the building on South Lincoln Avenue.

David Parmley of Mesa Lodging LLC in Chesterfield, Mo., said he purchased the hotel in November 2007 and is undertaking about $1 million in renovation. The work includes refurbishing needed to bring guest room appointments up to current Hilton/Hampton Inn standards. Parmley also has applied for a change of use permit with the city of Steamboat Springs that would allow him to convert the former lobby of the hotel to guest rooms.

The permit is expected to be ruled on administratively Sept. 8. If approved, it would allow Parmely to increase the number of guest rooms from 68 to 73.

Parmley said the original Ski Town Inn and Suites was developed with a large lobby and restaurant. It first opened on Christmas Eve 1997. When it was converted to a Hampton Inn in November 2001, the 2,000-square-foot restaurant became superfluous.

“Hampton Inns don’t have restaurants,” he explained. “The check-in and breakfast area were moved to the second floor and what we have now is the world’s largest maintenance area.”

He would like to have the new suites available for ski season but isn’t optimistic the construction can be completed that quickly.

Parmley said he has been encouraged by the property’s occupancy levels since purchasing it 10 months ago and thinks a mid-range hotel with in-room microwave and refrigerator occupies a niche without a lot of competition here.

“If anything, the town is seeing a decline in mid-range hotels,” Parmley said. “Land in the valley is too expensive for someone to develop new properties in the middle of the range.”

Parmley’s company owns three other Hampton Inns in Missouri, including a new hotel in the midst of the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.