GREENFIELD — It’s business as usual for Mohan Reddyreddy.
And not just the business of expanding his portfolio of hotels. The expression also applies to his customers. Corporate visits to Hancock County and the surrounding area account for most of the stays at the Greenfield hotel he’s owned for the past seven years. That fact also made up much of his motivation for building the city’s latest hotel, which recently started welcoming guests.
Work started in fall 2017 on the new Fairfield Inn & Suites at 2253 William Way. It has 74 rooms, a business center, fitness center, high-speed internet and an indoor pool. The Fairfield brand is affiliated with Mariott Hotels.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryReddyreddy, president of Star Group Inc., said the hotel employs about 30.
It’s the city’s ninth hotel, eight of which are near Interstate 70.
Reddyreddy also owns the Holiday Inn Express neighboring the Fairfield. The area’s proximity to the Greenfield interstate exit and Indianapolis makes it ideal for those who don’t want to stay in a large city as they travel, he said.
Business was comparable at the Holiday Inn Express from 2017 to 2018, Reddyreddy continued. It is host for visitors of large Indianapolis events when hotels there are full, but most of its guests are visiting companies in and around Hancock County, he said.
“That’s what drives our business,” he said. “…This is all mostly corporate, mostly transient. Not much leisure, not much at all.”
Chinese auto-parts manufacturer BeijingWest recently opened a 275,000-square-foot, $80 million plant in Greenfield. Other companies have been starting operations along Hancock County’s Mt. Comfort Corridor. They and others are booking rooms in Greenfield when out-of-town executives and other employees and visitors make stops here.
Officials raised Hancock County’s innkeepers tax from 4% to 5% in 2015. Reddyreddy said the tax can have an impact when travelers compare rates as they decide where to stay.
Revenue from the tax funds tourism efforts throughout Hancock County.
Reddyreddy said he wouldn’t mind the higher tax as much — and added he’d even support raising the tax by another percentage point — if the revenue funded initiatives that brought more recreational visitors to Greenfield for overnight stays.
“When you have somebody come and stay at a hotel, they’ll not only use the hotel, they will use the local gas stations, local convenience stores, local supermarkets,” he said. “All of these benefit because of somebody staying in a hotel.”
He said his properties in Crawfordsville sell out at least 50 days a year during various events the town holds. Montgomery County’s innkeepers tax rate is two percentage points lower than Hancock County’s, he noted.
Brigette Cook Jones, executive director of Hancock County Tourism, said the agency she leads is entirely funded by the county’s innkeepers tax, which provides an annual budget of about $500,000.
She said since taking on her position in 2017, she’s been focused on raising awareness of Hancock County’s identity and location. Funds at the agency’s disposal are being used to advertise the county’s communities in travel guides and in publications in areas like Chicago and the Ohio cities of Columbus and Cincinnati, Jones continued.
Those advertisements highlight things to do in Hancock County along with its restaurants, shops, festivals and other events, she said.
Jones added funds also advertise Hancock County’s hotels in an Indiana Department of Tourism travel guide.
Hancock County Tourism funds also are available to help support local events and attractions through a series of grants, she said.
Recently, the agency contracted with Truly360, a company that Jones said will boost local hotels’ presence among Google search results.
Jones said the agency is also planning on paying for online virtual tours of some of Hancock County’s larger hotels.
“This is all new stuff that was never being done before to raise awareness of us as a location,” Jones said.
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Fairfield Inn & Suites
- 2253 William Way, Greenfield
- 74 rooms
- Business center
- Fitness center
- Complimentary breakfast
- High-speed internet
- Indoor pool
- About 30 employees
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