Aug. 20, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by Experience Sioux Falls.

 There was one bright spot to an unprecedented drop in visitor business at the downtown Country Inn & Suites this year: A major renovation that could have taken up to eight months was done in about half that time.

“The day our crew got here was the day the stay-at-home orders started, so they had to stay,” said Josh Allen, director of sales and marketing.

“Being slow is never ideal for business, but it meant we could shut down an entire floor. We did a complete interior remodel.”

Guests familiar with the property at 200 E. Eighth St. might not recognize it now – with the lobby staircase removed, a new open design and 71 guest rooms that have been renovated from top to bottom.

“We added a wood accent wall so it’s very open, and we replaced the wood floor with a tile floor and a lot of earthy tones,” Allen said. “We’re getting a lot of compliments, a lot of positive feedback. “June and July rebounded quite a bit, and you definitely could see people excited to be on vacation.”

The hotel now features a renovated breakfast room, an updated meeting room, a freshened-up fitness center and swimming pool, and new carpet and paint throughout the property.

The attached Falls Landing restaurant was renovated too, “so it was a complete building remodel,” Allen said.

The downtown property is one of several citywide where guests will discover big improvements as they start to resume travel put on hold earlier this year.

“Some of our longtime, well-loved hotels have seen some very nice reinvestment, and as guests are returning or considering booking, the feedback has been positive,” said Teri Schmidt, executive director of Experience Sioux Falls. “The timing to complete the projects actually did work out because there were fewer guests staying there in many cases during construction.”

Timing worked out a bit differently at the Best Western Plus Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center, which was just wrapping up a multimillion-dollar renovation at 3200 W. Maple St. when the pandemic hit.

“That’s when we were going to be peaking and busy, so that was a hard hit, but we’re coming back,” director of sales and marketing Kacie Weatherly said. “July was a really good month for us, and August is a little slower, but I think that’s every business right now.”

The hotel’s 223 guest rooms were torn down to the shell and completely redone with new furnishings and fixtures.

“We also have 60,000 square feet of meeting space that was totally renovated, including new carpet, lighting and audio-visual upgrades,” Weatherly said.

“Our hotel has been around for decades, so we wanted to go for a more modern atmosphere. And recently, we’ve had lots of tours, lots of conventions booked just because of the renovation, so we’ve gotten good feedback.”

The hotel’s two on-site restaurants, Maple Street Cafe and Frankie’s Sports Bar & Grill, have been updated as well. Main Street Cafe has new tables and chairs, and Frankie’s received 30 new flat-screen TVs several years ago with a brand-new look at that point.

The pool areas also were freshened up during the renovation.

“We take all types of travelers,” Weatherly said. “We’re a convention hotel, but we’re also a water park hotel. So we can take the weddings, the conventions and the leisure travelers.”

On the south end of the city, the Hilton Garden Inn has added new food and beverage options.

The hotel at 5300 S. Grand Circle updated its pantry area, which used to be a small nook next to the front desk. It’s now a new offering called The Shop.

“It’s an open-concept design with a wider variety of offerings, including local treats and name-brand snacks,” sales manager Ronna Poppens said.

“Guests also have the option to purchase specialty coffee such as a latte, espresso or cappuccino from our high-end coffee machine brewing Caribou Coffee.”

Improvements also are underway at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

“We are thankful the city takes keeping our venue on the leading edge of our industry seriously,” said Stu Webber, director of sales.

“We have the features and functionality that can match any other convention center.”

Here’s a look at the newest additions:

Meeting room camera and projector project

• Clients can connect their devices to top-of-the-line, ceiling-mounted projectors to deliver top-quality video in all meeting rooms. Additionally, mounted video cameras were installed that can stream meeting room content anywhere in the world.

Floor box project 

• The Convention Center just wrapped up a project to replace all the power boxes in the floor exhibit hall and ballroom floors. In addition to electricity, the new power boxes provide data connectivity the old ones didn’t. The new boxes allow clients to use their technology anywhere in the exhibit halls or ballrooms.

New lighting system and fixtures

• A project is underway to install a new lighting control system and fixtures. Soon, the building will be able to create a tailored lighting scheme for each event. Options will include hue, intensity, light locale and more.  The new LED fixtures will be environmentally friendly and potentially cut electricity costs by thousands of dollars each year.

New acoustic panels and paint scheme

• Before the year is done, installation will begin on new acoustic panels that will enhance the audio experience in the ballrooms and exhibit halls. The same rooms also will be given a face-lift with a modern paint scheme.

While it has been a tough year on the entire visitor industry, the Convention Center is having success booking events.

And the facility still has many events on the books for the remainder of the year, so fitting in new multiday events is tight.

But “we are always willing to explore and work with a prospective client,” general manager Mike Krewson said.

The building is using a VenueShield program from manager ASM Global to ensure health and safety measures are implemented for guests and staff.

“Safety has always been and will always be among our top priorities,” Webber said.

To see more visitor industry updates from Experience Sioux Falls click here.