Owner and developer, Dr. Mark O. Asperilla - a well-known physician and resident of Port Charlotte since 1989 - will be in attendance, along with officials from the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce, local business leaders, and representatives from the Microtel Inns & Suites corporate office.

Scheduled to open next summer, this is the first hotel to be built in the area since the devastation of Hurricane Charley in 2004.  The Microtel hotel is centrally located, just three miles from the Punta Gorda Historic District and four miles from the Port Charlotte Town Center Mall.

"We are very pleased that this project is coming out of the ground and look forward to welcoming a much-needed quality budget hotel," said Julie Mathis, executive director of the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce. "It will be the first post-Charley hotel to be built in our community after many hotels were destroyed."  

The three-story, 86-room Microtel Inn & Suites hotel will offer single, double and suite accommodations.  Amenities will include free local and free long distance phone calls anywhere within the continental U.S. and free high speed wireless Internet access in all guestrooms; expanded cable television with CNN, HBO and ESPN; a fitness center; a meeting room; outdoor pool, and complimentary continental daily breakfast. 

"I chose to build a Microtel hotel because it has a history of success and because of the recognition that J.D. Powers and Associates has given the chain for its high level of customer satisfaction," said Dr. Asperilla. "Our hotel will provide quality lodging with top-notch amenities, and at affordable prices." 

Microtel Inns & Suites are all newly-constructed, interior corridor, budget/economy hotels and one of the fastest growing hotel brands in the U.S.  Guests can enjoy membership in the MicroPass(tm) frequent guest program and earn a free night's stay after just nine night stays at any Microtel hotel location.  For an unprecedented fifth consecutive year, the chain has been ranked highest in guest satisfaction among economy/budget chains in J.D. Power and Associates' North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study.  

There are currently 11 Microtel Inns & Suites hotels open in the State of Florida and several more in development.  There are 295 Microtel hotels open or under construction worldwide.  All Microtel hotels are independently owned and operated.