May 01–Despite the region's slumping oil and gas industry, tourism and hotel industry officials say Stark County does not have a glut of hotel rooms.

"We aren't seeing indications yet that the market is overbuilt in Canton at all," said Joe Savarise, the executive director of the Ohio Hotel and Lodging Association, which represents more than 1,400 lodging properties in Ohio. "The oil and gas industry did have a positive effect on new building in the market, but the growth isn't only attributable to oil and gas either. … What we're seeing in the oil and gas sector is temporary, and the hotel industry looks at it in terms of long-term strategy."

Incredible growth

The Stark County area has seen significant growth in its number of hotel rooms. In the past two years, the number of hotel rooms in the county has increased from 2,200 about two years ago to 2,900, a surge of nearly a third, according to Visit Canton (formerly known as the Stark County Convention and Visitors Bureau).

The new hotels include:

–Hyatt Place Canton on Whipple Avenue NW and Everhard Road NW in Jackson Township.

–Staybridge Suites Canton on Everhard Road NW and Stratmoor Drive NW in Plain Township.

–Embassy Suites Akron-Canton Airport on Freedom Avenue NW in Jackson Township, near the Interstate 77 Shuffel Road NW exit.

–Springhill Suites Canton on Dressler Road NW in Jackson Township.

–Fairfield Inn & Suites Canton South on Greentree Avenue SW off the I-77 Faircrest Street SW exit in Canton.

–Home2 Suites by Hilton Canton on Broadmoor Circle NW in Plain Township.

–Comfort Suite on Edison Street NW in Hartville.

Also, a Hampton Inn & Suites is scheduled to open on West State Street in Alliance in July. A Quality Inn Hall of Fame reopened after being a Days Inn on Convenience Circle NW in Jackson Township off the Belden Village Street NW I-77 exit.

Diversified

Many of the rooms were constructed to meet the rising demand due to the oil and gas industry. But many also were built to address demand from an increasing number of visitors due to tourism and new athletic tournaments held in the area, according to a 2013 Repository article published when development of the new hotels was underway.

For example, the Pro Football Hall of Fame said it is constructing new athletic fields as part of its new national sports and youth complex. Three will be ready this summer. Two more will be finished by next year and by 2018, a total of nine will be open. The Hall has contracted with Legacy Global Sports to manage the scheduling of events for the fields.

Page 2 of 2 — Tournaments for soccer, football and lacrosse are beginning to book the fields, increasing the demand for hotel rooms. Also, people from out of town working on developing the Hall of Fame Village also need to stay in local hotels.

In addition, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village will generate a tremendous amount of economic activity, Savarise said.

"There will be people coming in and constructing those facilities. This is going to be a massive project that's going to be bringing in all kinds of work and business that's associated with the development of it, not just the opening of it," he said.

And Hall of Fame Village, scheduled to open in 2019, will have at least one four-star hotel and add an undisclosed number of hotel rooms to the local market.

Tonja Marshall, the vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Canton, said she's seen no indications of a major weakening in demand for local lodging.

Citing data from the firm STR Global, she said the demand for room nights was up 9 percent in February compared to February 2015. The average room night rate was $90 a night in 2014 and after the addition of the hundreds of rooms was at about $85 a night so far this year. Marshall said back in 2011, the average room rate in the Stark County area was $75 a night.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement festivities that kick off at the end of July and the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament in Akron, which will go from June 30 to July 3, will significantly bolster demand for rooms this summer.

Marshall said Visit Canton and its hotel partners are also visiting travel planning conventions to actively promote the area.

Savarise said the hotel business serves different industries besides oil and gas such as manufacturing and health care. And oil and gas prices will eventually recover, amid pipeline construction in northeast Ohio, he added.

"All the eggs aren't in the oil and gas basket, and even so oil and gas are not going to go away," he said. "Our industry has become very adept at making good decisions when it comes to new construction and expansion, and that's why we've seen in the current cycle of building that it's been sustainable growth. It always hasn't been the case in the past."

You can reach Robert at 330-580-8327 or [email protected]. Twitter: @rwangREP