By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
There’s a new place for visitors to lay their heads when they come to Bowling Green.
Last week Home2 Suites by Hilton opened at 1630 E. Wooster St.. The new hotel offers amenities for those who may want to stay awhile, whether they’re in town as tourists or for work.
“It’s designed for business travel, especially the longer term business travel from several days to months on end,” said general manager Andrew Favorito.
This is the only extended-stay hotel in town, he said. It’s also the largest with 101 rooms.
The rooms are roomier, akin to a studio apartment, he said. They are all equipped with kitchenettes, and there’s a small market stocked with ready-to-heat entrees. The hotel also serves breakfast.
“We have a bigger fitness center than you would typically see,” he said.
That goes along with a large meeting room, pool, and even an outdoor patio area with a grill.
“A lot of the corporate travelers are familiar with Hilton,” Favorito said. The international businesses in town will also attract business. “When people travel internationally, they don’t come just for a night. They’re going to be more comfortable at a place like this with room to stretch.”
Favorito expects business as well from the numerous events in town – the National Tractor Pull Championships, the Black Swamp Arts Festival, the two soccer tournaments, as well as offerings at Bowling Green State University.
All those strain the available beds in town. “Bowling Green has a hotel shortage.” That was exacerbated by the closing of Days Inn and the Victory, which sat on the site Homes2 now occupies.
Favorito, a Paulding native, worked at the Hampton Inn while he was a student at BGSU. On busy weekends travelers have to go to Perrysburg and Findlay to find a room, and on very busy weekends they wind up with rooms in Toledo and Lima.
Construction of the Hilton hotel began in 2018 and was stalled for a bit by the pandemic. Once construction started again, it was with reduced crews.
There have been supply chain issues, he said. As of last week, the weights for the fitness center were still on their way from China.
Favorito appreciates how well built the hotel is. “Concrete and metal,” he said. “It’s very sturdy.”
The hallways are extra wide and everything is sound proofed. “It’s not going to be one of those situations where you hear the room next to you.”
Favorito, who also worked in the hospitality business in southern California, said business is starting to pick up after the COVID-19 shut downs.
“In a market like Bowling Green, I feel like it’s definitely less affected than in a tourist market,” he said. Hotels in southern California are still shuttered. Here talk is about town events being revived.
“It’ll pick up eventually.”
