Tourism: The Big Picture

BizTUCSONSeptember 30, 2026

3 minutes read

Hotels to Historic Inns

By April Bourie

Downtown Tucson’s hotel scene is thriving, anchored by investment from new chains, historic inns and next year, the first international brand to arrive.

Earlier this year, news broke that the Hyatt Regency Tucson Convention Center will open in late 2027–the first Hyatt Regency-branded property in Tucson. The hotel, which will renovate the vacant Hotel Arizona, will offer 291 guest rooms and suites, a fitness center, an elevated pool and approximately 22,000 square feet of meeting space.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Hyatt to introduce the Hyatt Regency brand to the heart of Downtown Tucson,” said Omar Mireles, president of HSL Properties. “This investment reflects our confidence in Tucson’s continued growth and our commitment to enhancing the city’s hospitality offerings.”

Crystal Moore, president and CEO of Downtown Tucson Partnership, said the new Hyatt property continues to enhance the larger hospitality story downtown.

“Collectively, these projects represent significant private investment and, more importantly, confidence in Downtown Tucson,” Moore said. “More hotel rooms mean more people walking our streets, eating in our restaurants, attending performances and events, shopping locally and experiencing what downtown has become.”

Long anchored by the historic and iconic Hotel Congress–for decades the only hotel downtown–new interest in the downtown area was fueled by the very first AC Hotel to open in late 2015.

“It was easy to understand that there was a need for one, if not five, more hotels downtown in a community of our size,” said Scott Stiteler, principal owner of Tucson Urban LLC, which built and owns the AC Hotel. “That said, the first is always the hardest. Thankfully, we were able to work with Marriott to get one of the first AC Hotels in the U.S. in Downtown Tucson. It was a big feather in our cap because that was their darling new brand. It was the right time and right fit.”

Fletcher McCusker, board chairman of Rio Nuevo, added that, “once one hotel is interested, all the other brands start snooping around. And things from then exploded.”

Several hotel openings have followed, including the Doubletree Tucson Convention Center, The Leo Kent Hotel, Hampton Inn Tucson Downtown and Home2Suites Hilton Downtown.

Another newcomer will be the Moxy Hotel, being built by Stiteler, which is expected to break ground by the end of 2026. Obie Properties’ Tucson Inn and Marketplace is also on the horizon, said Moore.

“Each project brings something different to downtown,” she said. “The Hyatt strengthens our ability to support the Tucson Convention Center and attract larger meetings and conventions. The Moxy introduces a different hospitality concept designed around guests getting out of their rooms and experiencing the surrounding city. And the Obie project is particularly exciting because it combines a boutique hotel with local retail, food and beverage, and an activated event alley, creating another destination for visitors and Tucsonans alike.”

Management at The Leo Kent Hotel said increased downtown entertainment such as Mr. Bing’s Presents has helped business.

“Mr. Bing’s brings high-level, sophisticated productions to places like the Century Room at Hotel Congress, The Skylark Club in The Treasury 1929 and here,” said Erica Federico, The Leo Kent’s group sales and catering manager. “Events like this have helped bring in a new dynamic and demographic to downtown.”

“This hotel has been continually outperforming due to business travelers coming through,” added Anthony Peterson, The Leo Kent Hotel’s assistant general manager. “Here, we are cranking. We even had nights of full occupancy every week for a lot of the summer.”

Along with the hotel chains, historic inns and bed and breakfasts round out the downtown staying experience. Hotel Congress, with more than 100 years here, joins treasures like the Blenman Inn, the Armory Park Inn and more.

“A lot of our guests come to see concerts or go to other venues, and the Tucson Convention Center is a big draw for us,” said Margo Caylor, owner of the Blenman Inn. “Events like the Gem & Mineral Show and El Tour de Tucson also bring us guests. We are so grateful for community events that help us to be in business.”

“People want to walk and enjoy the art, history, and culture downtown, and they can do that now,” added Richard Oseran, Hotel Congress owner.

History and culture are at the forefront in the eight-room Armory Park Inn. Each room at the boutique bed and breakfast is curated and named for a famous Tucson pioneer.

“We want our guests to have more than a lovely stay. We want them to experience Tucson and all of the amazing things about our city,” said Amy Draper, owner of the inn and an eighth-generation Tucsonan.

Hotel development remains an attractive growth strategy, according to Cindy Aguilar, Visit Tucson’s VP of communications. Downtown’s average daily rate is up 59% since 2020, highlighting the area’s strong pricing power and continued demand.

“We’re not simply adding hotel rooms; we’re building the infrastructure that allows more people to experience Downtown Tucson as a destination, a place to eat, stay, explore and be entertained,” said Moore.