New hotels coming online in downtown El Paso

El Paso is an international business center but right now our city simply can’t hold very many people who come to visit, something downtown organizers say is changing soon.

“What’s been lacking is a quality convention room inventory in close proximity, so this brings us up to a more level playing field. I have the meeting space and now I have the hotel inventory to match and complement,” said Brooke Underwood with Destination El Paso.

Millions of dollars are being spent in downtown El Paso to renovate old buildings and construct new ones all to bring money to the area. Conventions downtown help bring in people from around the country to spend their money here, bringing potentially millions of new dollars into the borderland, but none of that can happen if these visitors don’t have a place to stay.

“A lot of those larger conventions that they try to go after require more room nights downtown, more rooms available downtown, and we haven’t been able to provide that. I think by having this it will position us better,” explained Gabriel Ayoub, vice president with the Hotel-Motel Association.

As the Camino Real shuts down for renovations, witht the Plaza Hotel years from being opened, downtown El Paso can’t hold very many people who come to visit.

“Currently, as of right now, we have about 430 occupiable rooms in the downtown area,” Underwood told ABC-7.

As the work in these local landmarks finished through the next several years that capacity, and the opportunities to bring new money to our area, could be double or more.

“Once all the new construction is done and the renovation of the Camino currently, but once it reopens as the Paso del Norte that brings our inventory in the downtown area to around 1200 rooms,” Underwood said.

Construction at the Plaza Hotel is expected to run for about three years.