LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport, the fourth-largest hotel in Kentucky, is getting its most extensive facelift in more than a decade.
The Al J. Schneider Co.'s decision to spend $25 million upgrading the 50-year-old hotel reflects the company's confidence that Louisville's hotel market "has absolutely bounced back" following the pandemic, Schneider Co. CEO Scott Shoenberger said.
Scott Shoenberger, CEO of the Al J. Schneider Co., at the Crowne Plaza hotel on June 21, 2023.
Chris Otts, WDRB"Bourbonism is back, group travel is back. And we're beginning to see business travel really begin to explode," Shoenberger said in an interview Wednesday.
The family company also owns Louisville's largest hotel, the Galt House, as well as the downtown Embassy Suites. The remake of the Crowne Plaza follows an $80 million renovation of the Galt House completed a few years ago.
The project involves remodeling all 588 rooms in the eight-story Crowne Plaza, which sits on state-owned land leased from the adjacent Kentucky Exposition Center. The Schneider Co. also plans to add a bar to the lobby, replace the hotel restaurant called Blue Horse with a new concept and to remake all of the event spaces.
"We're completely reimagining the entire hotel," Shoenberger said.
The project, which has started with a couple of rooms renovated, is expected to be completed by the 2024 Kentucky Derby, Shoenberger said.
Kentucky taxpayers will share in the cost. On Wednesday, a state board approved tourism development incentives worth up to $12.5 million over 20 years for the Schneider Co.
Crowne Plaza Renderings
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Renderings of the planned renovation to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville. (Photo courtesy of the Al J. Schneider Co.)
Louisville's hotel market has steadily improved since its precipitous drop in 2020, according to figures from STR, a hospitality data company.
The market-wide share of occupied rooms was 59% during the first five months of 2023, just shy of 60% during the same period in 2019, while about 15 hotels were added during that period.
Revenue per available room, a key metric in the industry, was $83 in the Louisville market during the first five months of 2023, up from $75 during the same period in 2019.
The Crowne Plaza, which was called the Executive West before its last renovation in 2009, serves an important role as the "the anchor" hotel for the Kentucky Exposition Center, Shoenberger said. It also gives the hotel a diverse clientele, he said.
"We have people that come here for fabulous galas and events, to people that are coming here for the pork producers and the YMCA … We service all spectrums," Shoenberger said. "So we want people to feel comfortable here."
