Marriott hotel in the works for Whitefish

The stock of lodging options in Whitefish is poised for substantial growth in the coming years with two new hotels currently under construction, and another one being planned.

The Marriott hotel chain is in the beginning stages of designing a three-story, 111-room hotel south of the Mountain Mall pond along Highway 93. While nothing formal has been filed, the developers have opened a pre-application with the Whitefish Planning Department. The Architectural Review Committee last week took a second look at the proposed 63,171-square-foot TownePlace Suites, which is intended for travelers seeking an extended stay.

Speculation of the Marriott venture continues the recent hotel boom in Whitefish that has surged over the past year.

Nearing completion is the 86-room Firebrand Hotel downtown and a 76-room Hampton Inn and Suites along Highway 93 South. Both three-story projects are expected to wrap up this spring and open for the summer tourism season.

Adding to the hotel blitz is another 101-room Marriott expected to open in north Kalispell this spring, while construction is underway on the 64-room Cedar Creek Lodge in Columbia Falls, as well.

With so many hotels popping up, questions have been raised about whether Whitefish’s tourism demand can feed this new inventory.

According to Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau statistics, the greater Whitefish area currently has a stock of about 1,200 rooms. That number doesn’t include vacation rental options found online in places like VRBO or Airbnb.

The Firebrand and Hampton Inn combined will add 162 rooms to the market — representing a 13 percent increase overall.

If the planned Marriott comes to fruition, that’s another 8 percent increase.

WCVB director Dylan Boyle tells the Pilot that Whitefish hotels aren’t quite at capacity during the peak summer season. Their polling of members shows Whitefish averages an 80 percent occupancy rate during July and August.

“There were rooms available every night in July and August,” Boyle said about the 2015 summer season.

“Even in 2014, [a record year for Whitefish tourism] most nights you could still find a room. We had less available, but you could still find rooms. We’re getting closer to full occupancy in the summer, but we’re still not there.”

The Whitefish occupancy rate generally dips during the shoulder seasons, and even falls off in the winter ski season. For perspective, Boyle notes that the average occupancy rate statewide in 2015 for the entire year was about 59 percent.

With all the new lodging speculation in the valley, Boyle says the Whitefish market could go in a number of directions.

“I’m still confident that within that peak six-week period, a lot of those rooms will be full,” he said. “It remains to be seen if those additional properties in Columbia Falls and Kalispell will we be able to attract visitors from Whitefish. Or with three new hotels [is Whitefish] going to end up pulling visitors who might stay in Kalispell or Columbia Falls? Or is there going to be increased price competition, potentially lowering the prices of rooms?”

“All of the variables do come into play.”

He said economic and environmental factors can always throw a wrench in the mix, as well.

“With the Canadian dollar or with wildfires in summer and snow in winter — there are always those variables,” he said.