Des Moines
- A new 330-room Hilton hotel, which will connect to the Iowa Events Center, is scheduled to open by spring 2018.
- An additional 300 hotel rooms will be added to downtown Des Moines by the end of 2016. New hotels include Holiday Inn Express & Suites Des Moines Downtown, an AC Hotel and Staybridge Suites–Des Moines.
Cedar Rapids
- In March, Hampton Inn and Suites North reopened after a renovation project, including a remodeled lobby and guest rooms.
- Holiday Inn Express Cedar Rapids in May unveiled a renovation, including a complete rebuild of all of its 83 guest rooms.
- At press time, Residence Inn Cedar Rapids South was on track to open last month with 95 suites and 460 square feet of meeting space.
Quad Cities
- The 102-room Homewood Suites by Hilton opened in Davenport in March.
- The 104-room Holiday Inn & Suites opened in Davenport last year. The property has nearly 5,300 square feet of meeting and prefunction space.
- The 115-room Hilton Garden Inn Bettendorf/Quad Cities opened in April 2015 with 2,400 square feet of meeting space.
- At press time, Rhythm City Casino Resort was on track to move this month from downtown Davenport to a new facility at the corner of interstates 80 and 74.
- Earlier this year, Radisson Hotel & Conference Center Coralville-Iowa City unveiled extensive renovations, including updates to its guest rooms, meeting spaces and restaurant.
- Iowa City-based Hilton Garden Inn, which will have meeting space and a rooftop restaurant and bar with an outdoor patio, is scheduled for completion in summer 2017.
- There are plans for two hotels at the Iowa River Landing, a mixed-use development in Coralville. A Drury Hotel is scheduled for completion in summer 2018 and a Staybridge Suites property is estimated to open the following spring.
Waterloo
- Waterloo’s newest hotel property, the 81-room Fairfield Inn & Suites Waterloo Cedar Falls, opened last year with 1,800 square feet of meeting space.
Sioux City
- Sioux City Convention Center completed a renovation in January, including 50,000 square feet of newly updated exhibit space.
Council Bluffs
- Phase II of Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park, featuring the River’s Edge Pavilion, broke ground earlier this year. The pavilion will provide a small meeting/event space for up to 60 people, complete with a catering kitchen and presentation capabilities. The facility’s rooftop deck will accommodate 100 people and an adjacent tilted lawn will seat 400 people.