Aug. 01–ENID, Okla. — The co-owner of a planned Country Inn & Suites said he is anxious about getting his hotel built.
Mihir Barve confirmed Thursday dirt work on the 77-room hotel at 710 Mill Run has begun, and he hopes to have the hotel completed within the year.
Site plans for the hotel were approved by the city in July 2012.
Barve said despite other hotels being built in Enid, the market and economy can sustain the Country Inn & Suites.
“It’s not a full-service hotel, so it’s gonna be along the lines of like a Holiday Inn Express. It’s somewhere like maybe a three star-type property,” Barve said.
He said the typical guest there will be a business traveler.
“We’re not a boutique hotel and we’re not a convention hotel. As far as looks and so forth, it’ll be like the Hampton and the Holiday Express,’ he said. “We’re not looking for destination tourists to Enid.”
The main amenity at Country Inn & Suites will be an indoor pool. The hotel brand is part of Carlson Companies, which manages Radisson hotels and T.G.I. Fridays, among others.
Barve said he wouldn’t be building in Enid unless he was confident in the local economy.
“We have some friends who own some properties there that seem to be doing pretty well,” he said. “There seems to be demand for more space in Enid, and we’re able to get what we think is a very good location. So that was the reason to do it.
“And I understand there’s a lot of sporting events going on there, too. And I imagine that group of people might be the right customers as well.”
This will be his first hotel, but his business partner, L.S. “Lucky” Multani, has several properties in and around Oklahoma City, Barve said.
The company handling the hotel is listed as Trophy Hotels LLC, and is registered in Edmond. Barve said this hotel is the only property currently under that corporation’s management.
