The Dayton, Ohio airport hasn’t had a hotel in 9 years. Why that might change.

Oct. 30–Nearly nine years after the closure of the money-losing Dayton Airport Hotel, the city is working to bring a new hotel there.

On Monday, the city issued a request for qualifications from firms that want to develop, construct and operate a nationally branded hotel.

The Dayton International Airport wants a new hotel that offers accommodations, conference space and dining or restaurant options to serve travelers, airlines staff and workers at some of the large, new developments around the aviation facility, city officials said.

"We're excited about it because a market study justifies a hotel; we just need to get some interest in it," said Terry Slaybaugh, Dayton's director of aviation.

The hotel will be built on the airport property, possibly at a site near the intersection of Terminal Drive and Boeing Drive.

Currently, the closest hotel is a Super 8 by Wyndham, located several miles away on East National Road. There's a variety of hotels south of the airport on Miller Lane.

The city wants a hotel with roughly 110 to 120 rooms and that also offers a significant amount of conference space because there's a lot of opportunities for training and events for the airlines and other local companies, Slaybaugh said.

"We want a brand that's right for our customers," he said.

PSA Airlines, which is headquartered at the airport, is the fastest-growing regional airline in the nation, and its pilots and flight attendants would benefit from having their training close to where they stay, Slaybaugh said.

The airport has been a regional jobs leader because developers are constructing massive new logistics, distribution, warehousing and other industrial facilities on its property.

The companies that have moved or that are planning to move into the buildings have workers spread across the country. Company representatives need lodging when they come visit.

The city permanently closed the Dayton Airport Hotel in 2010 after 40 years in operation.

Airport management at the time said that the hotel's lack of brand affiliation and an elevator were among the reasons it closed.