Construction of a new 66-room Best Western to be be built in Dillsboro will begin Aug. 9 at an 11:30 p.m. groundbreaking ceremony.

Local business leaders will join directors of hospitality education programs from two area colleges for a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the Best Western River Escape Inn and Suites. The Best Western will be the only national hotel chain in Dillsboro.

The new hotel will provide college students in hospitality education programs at Western Carolina University and Southwestern Community College a place to get first-hand experience, said general manager Ernie Ulmer. The new hotel will serve as a learning lab for local college student studying the hospitality industry. The groundbreaking ceremony will include a presentation to Western Carolina University and Southwestern Community College.

“It’s exciting to be part of a project that fulfills the needs of today’s traveler and tomorrow’s business leader,” Ulmer said.

The hotel will include 27 suites and meeting facilities. But Ulmer explains a successful hotel goes beyond location . Ulmer will operate the Best Western with his wife Hazel, who will serve as the director of sales and marketing. Both are Certified Hotel Administrators (CHAs) and for the last 15 years have owned and managed successful lodging properties in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee.

 

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