Pontiac, Illinois, doesn’t have a Hampton Inn hotel. However, that soon will change, and much of that is because of the surge in Route 66 tourism in that town.
Hampton Inns is building a 79-room hotel near Deerfield Road and Interstate 55, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph. The hotel chain projects it will be open by June 2016.
“This is a direct result of the success of tourism in Pontiac,” said City Administrator Bob Karls. The project was approved in March. […]
“We believe there is a need for more hotel rooms in Pontiac because we are getting more overnight stays through our tourism efforts,” he said. “If the last two months are any indication, I think we are going to have the best year for tourism we have ever had.”
The newspaper reported the Hampton Inn project would be $200 million, but that’s surely one zero too many. A figure of $20 million seems more realistic, given the proposed hotel’s size.
Pontiac — playing up its Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum and other museums downtown — had seen double-digit percentage increases in tourism each year for much of this decade.
From its beginnings almost 10 years ago, Route 66 News had recommended independently owned motels for travelers. However, we also have recommended Hampton Inns if a chain motel is desired. That’s partly because of Hampton Inn’s Landmarks program, of which several Route 66 properties have benefited. In addition, Hampton Inn sponsored the Route 66 Caravan in 2002, which provided Route 66 Roadside Attractions signs at selected landmarks and added much publicity for the Mother Road.
(Image of behind the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac, Illinois, by thelostadventure via Flickr)