Published September 2004

S. Everett hotel
open for business
New Holiday Inn Express targets corporate market along I-5 corridor

Snohomish County Business Journal/KIMBERLY HILDEN The Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites opened in August just west of I-5 at the 128th Street SW exit in south Everett. The 99-room hotel includes 25 suites as well as a business center and exercise facilities.

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

According to Dan Mitzel, a 21-year veteran of the hospitality industry, it’s no secret what it takes to be successful in the hotel business: providing guests a quality experience, from the service of staff to the amenities offered.

“You have to have everything people expect in a hotel: free high-speed Internet access, a quality breakfast program,” said Mitzel, part owner of hotels in Oak Harbor and Burlington.

In August, the Skagit County developer opened his newest venture, the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in south Everett.

Located just west of I-5 at the 128th Street SW exit, the three-story, 99-room hotel includes “everything people expect”: high-speed Internet access in all guest rooms, wireless Internet access, an exercise room, a pool and spa, complimentary breakfast service, and a business center, complete with computer, printer and copy machine.

The hotel also includes amenities guests may not notice at first, but should come to appreciate during their stay, Mitzel said, including a quieter air-conditioning and heating system that operates with an automatic occupancy sensor, turning the system on and off as guests enter and leave their room.

The hotel also includes a line of larger, fluffier bath towels, an amenity that the Holiday Inn Express chain is rolling out nationwide.

“My only concern is that people will want to take them home,” Mitzel said with a grin.

Targeting the corporate market, the hotel has 25 suites, including 12 one-bedroom king corner suites as well as 12 king studio suites. There also is a 650-square-foot meeting room, which can seat up to 40 people in a dinner setup and 50 people in a classroom setup and also can be divided into two smaller rooms.

“We already have some bookings for the room,” said Erik Pede, the hotel’s general manager. “We have catering options; coffee and tea are provided.”

Opened Aug. 9, the $6.4 million project enters a 5,000-room market that, according to a Smith Travel Research survey, had an occupancy rate of 67 percent in June. While that is an improvement over June 2003, when occupancy stood at less than 64 percent, it is still short of robust.

Mitzel said he is pleased with the hotel’s placement, however, noting that more than 200 Holiday Inn rooms left the county marketplace during the past year, when the Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center in south Everett converted to a combination Comfort Inn & Suites and Quality Inn.

Also, there is not a Holiday Inn Express directly off I-5 between south Everett and Tacoma, he said.

Both factors should benefit his hotel, as customers loyal to the brand, and members of its Priority Club Rewards program, seek out the Holiday Inn Express name, said Mitzel, noting that in his experience, 40 percent of all guests tend to be members of the frequency program. That customer base increases to 70 percent when it comes to the corporate market.

As far as establishing a market niche, the next year will be a telling one, he said.

“This is a market where curb appeal is important, which is why we used slate on the outside — we try to send a message that we’re better than the competition. And we have great competition,” Mitzel said. “The Hampton, the Marriott, those are great brands, and they do a great job. We are looking forward to competing with them.”

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