Aug. 04–SALEM — Salem has a hotel again.

The 70-plus-room Holiday Inn Express on North Cunningham Road opened last month to offer the business traveler a lodging option in the city.

“We are super-excited for the future, and we wouldn’t build unless we knew it would be successful. We are definitely looking forward to being a part of the community,” said Leah Vonewegen, regional sales director for the hotel and for The Forza Group, which developed the hotel.

The Forza Group, based in Pittsburgh, has been in operation for 10 years. Its Salem hotel is one of 10 hotels it operates. The group is building a 90-plus-room Hampton Inn and Suites in Wexford, Pa., and a Courtyard hotel in Toledo. Both are expected to open next year. The Forza Group also has 12 other hotels in the pipeline.

The oil and gas industry really helped the group decide to invest in the area and other areas. Ground was broken on the Holiday Inn Express last spring.

“Gas and oil is what we are geared towards,” Vonewegen said. “That runs through Monaca, Pa., and runs through here.”

Vonewegen knows the industry has taken a hit from the dramatic drop in oil prices over the past year, but she is hopeful it will pick up again.

She also thinks the hotel will benefit from being the only lodging available in the city of Salem.

The hotel is the first to open after the Timberlanes Inn on East Pershing Street closed in 2009 after 50 years in business.

The Holiday Inn Express of Salem features inviting colors, high-speed Internet access, hot breakfast, a fitness center, pool and other amenities. The modern-looking hotel took about a year to build.

Although it is in Salem, the hotel sits in Mahoning County and will bring in more bed tax to the county. It was the third hotel to open in the county this year. A Best Western Plus on Tiffany South opened in February with 67 rooms, and a 110-room Courtyard by Marriott opened on Westford Place in Canfield in June. CTW Development also plans to bring a banquet center to the Canfield hotel that will seat 900.

“The Salem area has been without a hotel for many years,” said Linda Macala, director of the Mahoning County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. The Holiday Inn Express “is just another addition to our lodging partners. I am sure it will be beneficial [to the area].”