Yellowstone traffic brings Hampton Inn to Rexburg

Kevin Flamm is building a 101-room Hampton Inn & Suites next door to his 97-room SpringHill Suites in Rexburg.

They will be the two largest hotels in Rexburg when the Hampton Inn opens in April 2018, said Chris Mann, CEO of the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce.

Rexburg, with a population of 30,000, is the closest good-size city to the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It is also home to Brigham Young University-Idaho, but Flamm said increased traffic to Yellowstone was the impetus for the hotel. The park saw about 4.5 million visitors last year, up from $3.6 million in 2010 and 2.8 million in 2000. Most visitors travel there between May and September, but there are visitors year-round.

“The amount of tour buses going to Yellowstone has exploded,” said Flamm, co-owner of Lot 6 Development Co. of Salt Lake City and Intermountain Wealth Management in Idaho Falls. “The last 10 years has seen growth of 10 to 15 percent every year.”

General contractor Headwaters Construction of Victor started the Hampton Inn construction March 1. The architect is Salt Lake City-based Richardson Design Partnership, which also designed the 185-room Residence Inn by Marriott in downtown Boise, the largest hotel currently under construction in Idaho. Richardson also designed the Meridian temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Flamm acquired the SpringHill Suites 2-1/2 years ago and said visitors on occasion have to stay in Idaho Falls because all the rooms are filled in Rexburg, especially during peak BYU events and Yellowstone tourism.

“We were seeing how many people were turned away the last couple years,” Flamm said. “That made the ultimate decision to build a second hotel.”

He said Yellowstone makes up 40 percent of his business at SpringHill Suites across the whole year and at least 70 to 80 percent in prime season from May to September.