Could an on-site hotel, other new features, bring more travelers through Columbia airport?
A new hotel could be coming to the Columbia Metropolitan Airport’s campus. The airport wants a developer to build the hotel at the corner of Airport Boulevard and Aviation Way, within walking distance of the terminal.
The project is part of a slate of improvements the airport plans to make in coming years. The bet is that by adding more features, Columbia will stop losing so many potential passengers to the larger airport in Charlotte.
“We are really focused on growth and expansion, and we’re also focused on how we do that within the confines that we currently have, but also to where we see opportunities,” said Kim Crafton, Vice President of Marketing and Air Service Development at Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
The airport was growing rapidly before the COVID-19 pandemic stalled travel. In 2019, it served 1.3 million passengers, the most in its history. But this year, the airport is projected to serve 1.4 million passengers.
By 2044, that number could easily soar beyond 2 million, according to Federal Aviation Administration projections.
“While all of this growth and development won’t happen tomorrow, we are planning now for the future, because it’s coming and it’s inevitable,” Crafton said.
The airport’s main goal with the hotel would be to serve passengers of early-morning and late-night flights. It would have four floors and 150 rooms, as well as some features the airport hopes even locals not flying out of the airport can enjoy – like a rooftop bar and restaurant overlooking the airfield.
“Travelers can arrive the night before, enjoy a comfortable stay, and conveniently walk directly from the hotel into the terminal in the morning,” said airport president Mike Gula in a statement announcing the hotel plans.
The Columbia airport isn’t alone in circling the addition of a hotel as something that might make it more attractive to passengers.
In a 2023 article for Hotel Online, Anwar Elgonemy, hotel and special projects director at the San Francisco International Airport, detailed that airport-connected hotels are increasingly seen as a potent tool for these transit hubs to set themselves apart. Of the 21 airport-connected hotels that existed in North America as of the article’s publication, five were added between 2014 and 2019.
“There is strong competition among airports as they are seeking to offer an enhanced passenger experience that comes with having a high-quality hotel that is an integral part of the airport,” Elgonemy writes. “The enhanced passenger experience is also becoming an increasingly important differentiator in an airport’s competitive position, creating a ‘halo effect’ for airports and making them more attractive international hubs for airlines.”
Beyond its hotel aspirations, the Columbia airport is also in the middle of expanding its security checkpoints from two to four lanes, “providing a more efficient experience for the increasing number of passengers CAE is projected to see in the coming years,” according to the airport.
That multi-million dollar project is only part of the airport’s growth plans.
Airport leaders last year started working on a new master plan, outlining the airports’ growth for the next 10-20 years. Crafton said the airport is looking at adding new spaces and updates, and it has taken in a lot of feedback from its customers.
Roughly 2,000 people gave the airport feedback on how to improve the space, and Crafton said they are already working to implement some of those requests – like adding more charging stations and conference space.
Other aspects of the airport’s long-term vision include adding new gates, allowing for more planes to board at the same time and allowing for more flight options. The airport has also just received a $3 million grant to build a cover over the roof of its parking deck with a mini solar panel grid on top. The project would expand the airport’s existing solar program.
While the airport leaders are working inside the campus, those living around the airport are also working on their own plans for the area.
Cayce and Springdale, two small towns that Airport Boulevard runs through, are teaming up on a beautification project on a one-mile stretch of the road.
Their plan is to add trees and other plants, plus new irrigation, from the I-26 interchange to the turn off to get to the Columbia Airport Expressway.
The landscaping, Cayce Mayor Elise Partin previously told The State, is about more than just making the area look nicer.
“Businesses go where the government’s paying attention because they know that their investment is more likely to be protected,” she said. “So a flower is not just a flower. It’s actually sending a message that says, ‘Come do business here, come visit here, come have fun here.’”
Crafton said she thinks the addition of the hotel can help with those efforts, particularly if the rooftop bar becomes a destination for travelers and locals alike. She said the airport is not working in a silo, and that a rising tide can lift all boats.
“I could definitely see it being a very positive thing for the progression and push toward improving that corridor,” she said.
