Investors are betting big on the revitalization of Memphis as various projects are putting the city back on the map with competing cities.

Chuck Pinkowski, owner of Memphis-based hospitality consulting firm Pinkowski & Company, said during the 2021 Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association Southern Lodging Summit's "Industry Update" that big things are happening in the city's downtown.

The Renasant Convention Center completed a $200 million renovation; Memphis International Airport is in the midst of a modernization; the city's riverfront is transforming; Memphis Sports & Events Complex will begin construction this year, and new hotels are on the horizon.

Kevin Kane, president and CEO of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau, said during the summit that Memphis is a market that is dominated by limited-service properties with very little meeting space.

However, that's about to change, especially with the One Beale project. The approximately $400 million development will bring more than 700 hotel rooms via three hotels — Caption by Hyatt, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Centric — as well as luxury apartments and food and beverage outlets.

Chance Carlisle, CEO of family-owned restaurant and hospitality business Carlisle and developer of the multi-phase One Beale project, said the concept for the mixed-use development came about as he realized the importance of tourism for cities like Memphis.

"We're finally at that moment where the public, the local government, our own investments has made it clear that activating and connecting the riverfront is critical to the industry that means the most to downtown — that's tourism and hospitality," he said.

Carlisle said his team is deliberately building this project into a campus, where guests and locals can have diverse experiences all in one spot.

The Hyatt Centric, which is set to open in April of this year, will be the first of three hotels within the project to debut. The property will have 8,000 square feet of meeting space.

Like Kane, Carlisle is a firm believer that Memphis needs larger hotels in the downtown core to attract big business like an NBA All-Star Game.

"Those things don't happen when you only have five hotels over 300 [keys]," he said.

With the right mix of public incentives, Carlisle was able to come to an agreement to build the 350-room Grand Hyatt, which will have more than 40,000 square feet of rentable meeting space.

He said financial incentives from the city are vital to getting projects like this done. Without relief, it's difficult to find the investments to build new properties, especially large properties.

"Having a partnership that takes some of that burden off of a developer is critical to building new supply," he said.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. invested its own capital into the market, which is a sign of its confidence in the project, he said.

Carlisle said Hyatt is world-class when it comes to booking meetings, and he feels his Hyatt-branded hotels are well-positioned to capitalize off the city's newly renovated convention center.

He's confident they will "take some business away from cities that used to not think of Memphis as competition."

The Overton Square in Midtown Memphis has been redeveloped with restaurants, bars, shopping and theater entertainment. But the only component missing for over a decade has been a hotel, The Memphian Hotel General Manager Kristopher Colig said in an email interview.

In early May of this year, the neighborhood will welcome its first hotel with The Memphian, part of Marriott International's Tribute Portfolio. Featuring 106 keys, two on-property food and beverage outlets, retail and rooftop event space, Colig said the hotel already has success with weddings and social events business on the books.

He said many couples postponed weddings in 2020 and rescheduled for 2021. Additionally, corporate groups are picking up, with requests for proposals.

"That is a great indicator that travelers are vaccinated and ready for person-to-person meetings with safety precautions in place," he said.

Colig said as conventions start to gather at the newly renovated Renasant Convention Center, there will be compression of the downtown area.

He said staffing the new hotel was a challenge.

"With many businesses reopening at the same time, we are all drawing from a somewhat contracted labor pool. During and post-COVID-19, many have left the hospitality industry in search of other opportunities," he said.

However, his property was able to attract new talent through his team's approach of seeking employees that are the best fit with diverse backgrounds and skill sets.

The Memphis market, as defined by STR, has six hotel projects in construction, nine in the planning phase, 10 in final planning and three unconfirmed, according to pipeline data as of April 5. STR is CoStar Group’s hospitality analytics firm.

Preliminary data for March 2021 shows occupancy in Memphis declined 32.4% month to date to 62.8%, while average daily rate dropped 2.5% to $81.26 and revenue per available room increased 29.1% to $51.07.