GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Opryland Hotel Books 870 Room Nights Ahead of January Opening

ORLANDO-The hospitality industry may be in a tailspin but that’s not evident at future bookings logged by the 1,400-room Opryland Hotel, still under construction and expected to open in first quarter 2001.

The hotel confirms it has booked 870,000 room nights through 2011–10 years down the road. At a daily room rate range of $250 to $450, the estimated value of those bookings could be $30 million, area brokers tell GlobeSt.com.

The location of Opryland Hotel; another 360-room Emerald Tower boutique-style hotel owned by Opryland; and an adjacent 178,000-sf convention center–all expected to open in the first quarter–are expected to be the catalyst in attracting more than an estimated $1 billion worth of new commercial, retail and hospitality ventures to the once barren southwest corner of International Drive South and Osceola Parkway in neighboring Osceola County.