Proposed Miami hotel joins other lodging developments in town

Miami University is looking to build the largest university-affiliated hotel on-campus in school history, but the project is just one of several hotels currently in development in Oxford.

At 5186 Morning Sun Road, construction of a 92-room Fairfield by Marriott Hotel is underway. Developers have also broken ground on an 83-room Holiday Inn Express at 5470 College Corner Pike.

The Miami-affiliated hotel is still early in development, according to a statement provided to the Oxford Free Press by a university spokesperson. A request for proposals was put out in September and closed on Oct. 2, but the university has not formally accepted a bid yet. 

The university is also considering replacing Millett Hall with a new arena, but “neither project will move forward without full approval by the Miami University Board of Trustees,” according to the statement. “As these ideas are still in early phases, there are no firm dates for when anything on either will be presented to trustees for consideration.”

The Oxford Observer reported last October that the city had 379 total hotel rooms. The two private projects which have broken ground will result in a nearly 50% increase to 554 rooms, not including the eventual university-affiliated project.

Steve Alexander, an architect with Prince Alexander Architecture overseeing the Fairfield by Marriott project, said they’re aiming to open the hotel in April 2025 ahead of graduation. He’s not worried about demand for rooms being tied to Miami events.

“Our market analysts supported year round business,” Alexander said. “It’s really a matter of marketing to the right groups in the larger community. It’s not designed to be fully dependent on university events.”

Oxford sees the most visitors during family weekend, graduation weekend, move-in and homecoming, said Enjoy Oxford’s executive director Kim Daggy. Beyond that, though, athletic events, orientations, Make it Miami days and other events still bring people to town. Alexander said he sees opportunities to bring people to town even when class isn’t in session.

“The city seems really well organized to attract tourism year round,” Alexander said. “It’s such a beautiful downtown, but with a little bit of marketing, we’d like to cooperate with the Chamber of Commerce and promote more year round tourism in Oxford.”

Sam Perry, community development director for Oxford, said Oxford’s hotel industry may differ from other college towns like Bowling Green or Kent because the city isn’t near a major highway. Miami has a student population of more than 16,500 undergraduates and more than 2,000 graduate students on its Oxford campus alone. When the university holds major events like graduation, local hotels fill up quickly, and parents and family members look to neighboring towns for lodging.

“I think we’re fairly unique when it comes to the aspect of a shortage of hotel rooms for major events like graduation,” Perry said. “The difficulty with the hoteliers is that there are not other major events going on and other demands to help to compensate for those things, and so they’re having to try to make a living off of those peak times and hope that the community can do other things to attract people here.”

Oxford has increased its placemaking efforts in recent years, which Perry said could increase overnight stays unrelated to the university. This year, the city held its third annual Oxtoberfest, and other events like the Oxford Wine and Beer Festival also attract crowds. The Great Ohio Bike Adventure also brought hundreds of cyclists to town this summer, though many camped in tents rather than staying in hotels.

Daggy said more overnight guests helps to drive business at restaurants and other local shops in town. Even when people stay out of town for big events like graduation and family weekend, she said, they still spend money in Oxford.

Some developments countywide like Spooky Nook in Hamilton are also bringing more visitors to Butler County, Daggy said. Getting more lodging options in Oxford now feels like good timing to her.

“It’s a good turning point at this point for these hotels coming on board because we have other developments further into the county bringing in more tourists in those areas, as well,” Daggy said.

Hotel stays drive the budget for Enjoy Oxford, the city’s visitors bureau which is funded through the city’s 6% total hotel tax, which includes a 3% hotel tax and a 3% convention tax. The organization then puts that money toward attracting more visitors through events and initiatives like the weekly Uptown Concert Series each summer.

The city’s proposed 2025 budget includes an anticipated $330,000 in revenue from the hotel tax.

The Marcum Hotel and Conference Center, Miami’s current on-campus hotel, contributes to the lodging tax, and Daggy said the potential hotel the university is looking into building would, as well. According to reporting by the Journal-News, Cook Field could be a potential location for the on-campus hotel, though a university official told the publication the turf would be extended to the south if this option was pursued.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the Fairfield by Marriott Hotel's address as 525 N. Campus Ave. While that was the address of one of the properties bought by developers to construct the hotel, the official hotel address is 5186 Morning Sun Road.