March 16, 2021

The new hospitality division of Lloyd Cos. opens its first hotel today.

It’s a 100-room Hilton Garden Inn in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, across the street from a Fleet Farm that Lloyd also developed.

“It’s an opening day many months in the making, and we couldn’t be more excited to be bringing this property to this community,” Jennifer Seifert-Brenna, vice president of Lloyd Hospitality Group, said in a statement.

Lloyd Hospitality Group has other hotels in development, including the previously announced Canopy by Hilton in downtown Sioux Falls and a hotel in downtown Rapid City.

Cedar Rapids is Iowa’s second-largest city, at about 135,000 people, and enjoys significant youth sports visitor business, Seifert-Brenna said.

“The Hilton Garden Inn is very accessible to a major sports complex, and we already have blocks of rooms set aside for 30 events,” she said.

“It’s the first new hotel by many, many years on the north side of town, so we’re anticipating significant interest from both leisure and corporate visitors. We’re already experiencing that interest in the form of sports teams, weddings and even business-events booking.”

The Hilton Garden Inn had to overcome not just the pandemic but Iowa’s damaging derecho in August 2020 – months from what was the planned opening. As high winds and torrential rain pelted the hotel, the team had to contend with water pouring into the property, Seifert-Brenna said.

“We were very lucky. There was no structural damage. And while it delayed us from opening, we feel like in the big picture our timing is an advantage,” she said.

“Now, to be opening a hotel in this environment is a good thing. We’re in a location to drive group business. We’re starting to see the corporate side bounce back, especially in the second half of the year, so we’re opening just as the world is starting to get back.”