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120-room Hilton Garden Inn opens in south Medford Medford's new Hilton Garden Inn is open in south Medford. Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta Thursday Jan 5, 2017 at 2:31 PM Jan 5, 2017 at 3:56 PM Greg Stiles Mail Tribune @GregMTBusiness Hilton Garden Inn, the first local hotel built since the recession, has opened in south Medford. Prior to the four-story, 120-room hotel turning on the lights, the most recent new hospitality construction was neighboring Homewood Suites in 2008. "Now is the perfect time for a new hotel to come into the market," said Paul Schmidt, general manager for both Hilton properties. "The demand in the market has increased over the years to the point where there is easily demand for 120 rooms." It may be the trigger point for a new round of building, he said, noting industry reports point to strong occupancy rates in the region. "It's just a matter of what brand will fit in Medford," Schmidt said. "HGI was in a niche Medford was missing. It's as near to a full-service hotel as you can get. Medford doesn't have a name-brand hotel with a restaurant and conference center attached; Rogue Regency and Inn at The Commons are both locally owned." The new hotel boosts Medford's hotel inventory to more than 2,600 rooms, said Eli Matthews, senior vice president of Travel Medford. "Having an additional 2,800 square feet of meeting space is also good for small meetings," Matthews said. "Ideally, we want to see more conference meeting space as we grow. We're on pace to continue growth in our area in one of the fastest-growing regions in a state that remains the highest for people moving in." Hilton Garden Inn, at 1000 Welcome Way, adds a different element to the Medford hospitality mix. It doesn't have the overnight capacity of Rogue Regency or the meeting space offered by Inn at The Commons or Ramada Inn, but Hilton Garden Inn has curb appeal, along with room for 200 people, typical for local conferences. "It's the perfect size for companies meeting here, because we're not competing against larger markets," said Schmidt. "It's kind of a one-stop center for our guests. We can pick them up at the airport, they can have a meeting at our conference center, have breakfast and dinner at the hotel, and a drink at the bar later."  Although Hilton Garden Inn focuses on corporate clients, it will actively pursue weekend warriors playing baseball, softball and soccer at nearby U.S. Cellular Community Park on the other side of the freeway. Should the city pursue construction of an indoor facility near U.S. Cellular Community Park, Schmidt said his properties would take full advantage. "With our proximity to the fields, there would be a real convenience factor," Schmidt said. The Garden Grill kitchen was designed to handle expanded catering operations. Both local Hiltons are overseen by InterMountain Management of Monroe, Louisiana, which handles 70 properties — primarily Hilton and Marriott. Hilton Garden Inn has a staff of about 30 and will expand to between 40 and 45 during peak travel season. Homewood Suites employs 35. Schmidt anticipates more hotel/motel activity coming to the region and some national-brand reflagging in 2018. "I think we'll see more properties come into town, and I think we'll see a small surge in the next few years," he said. "I don't see us taking that much away from other hotels. There will be a shifting of business from other hotels. But especially in the summertime, we turn people away in Medford. Now we will be able to hold more people for those busy months and for those busy events for weekends throughout the year." He said Providence Health and Services' Stewart Meadows venture likely will lead to lodging demand. With available land at a premium, Schmidt said, hotel developers are cautious. "A lot of hotels don't want to give up much inventory to one group," he said. "The best use of land, getting the right price and shrinking acreage all come into play."  — Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31.