July 19–An expansion that will add 24,800 square feet to Hotel Floyd is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2014.
This Phase 2 of Hotel Floyd will include: on the 1st floor, a conference space, which can accommodate up to 75 people, in addition to a hotel lobby, breakfast area, gift shop, and restrooms; and on the 2nd — 4th — floors, a total of 24 guest rooms. An elevator will be included and will connect the new structure to the existing two-story building through a breezeway. A patio/green area will also be located near the conference center.
Derek Wall, hotel manager, said the breakfast area will have a continental breakfast available for guests. The hotel will provide pastries and other baked goods from local bakeries and coffee from the Red Rooster. The gift shop — The Gateway Shop — will showcase local art and businesses and will be aimed more at getting guests out into the community, Wall explained. “It will be a little visitor center, but more artisan-based.”
The local influence will also be evident in the lobby and other places, where Floyd County woodworkers are contributing their skills. Ernest Bryant will design the reception desk, Bill Graefe will make the reception desk top, and Swede McBroom will provide the trim work. Streamline Timberworks is adding a timber frame at the entrance. All of the furniture will be made in Floyd County or in the area, Wall said.
The 24 new rooms, which will bring the total number of rooms at Hotel Floyd to 40, will be themed, and will be spacious, Wall added. Eighteen rooms will have double queen beds, and there will be 6 king rooms with a sitting area. All will have flat screen TVs.
The hotel, a green construction, is owned by Jack Wall and Kamala Bauers. Wall Construction is the hotel builder. David Wall (Derek’s brother) is the contractor.
Derek Wall said Hotel Floyd currently has 8 employees, but with the new addition Wall said he will probably hire 4-5 new employees for housekeeping and the front desk.
The conference center will be available for such things as weddings and corporate events. “Weddings are a huge business in this area,” he noted. The space will also be attractive to companies who would like to bring their boards or executive committees to Floyd.
The Hotel Floyd is TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence award winner for 4 straight years and is the number 1 lodging choice for hotels in Floyd County.
Wall said the demand for lodging in the county is here. Once the Hotel expansion is completed, he added, even more people will be able to stay in the downtown area, benefiting the stores and the whole community. “They can stay here, park here and walk around.”
The Hotel, which also has 2 pet friendly units in a separate building, had an 85 percent occupancy rate last month, and Wall said the hotel is selling out a lot of weekends. “In the summer we keep 80 percent and above occupancy rate.” Linda Quesenberry of the Hotel Floyd staff provides the Floyd Visitor News, a weekly listing of activities in Floyd County, as a tourism service to guests.
Wall graduated from Virginia Tech in 2003 with a degree in hospitality and tourism management. He has also worked in the hotel industry in Raleigh, NC and Charleston, SC. He and his wife have two children.
Once the Hotel Floyd addition is completed, the Hotel’s summer concert series will resume. Music will be provided on the grounds beside the Hotel on Thursdays. The addition will also allow music to be moved indoors if it rains.
“If we supply enough for people to do…create an ambiance and a relaxing time, people will come and stay more during the week, holidays and the winter season,” Wall commented. “We have a wealth of musicians and artisans….”
