Oliver Hospitality Diversifies Portfolio With Market Entrances and Expanded Development

Oliver Hospitality was built on the belief that historic buildings deserve new stories. From repurposed landmarks to community-driven destinations, that philosophy continues to shape our expansion into new markets and opportunities. Our expansion strategy is guided by our mission to double our portfolio by 2027 and deepen our ties to the communities we serve.

At the heart of Oliver Hospitality is the art of repurposing unique spaces — breathing new life into buildings with rich histories. Our portfolio includes icons such as Atlanta’s Hotel Clermont, a design-forward lifestyle hotel further transformed from the already iconic century-old motor motel; our flagship and namesake Oliver Hotel, Knoxville, originally a downtown bakery and now an intimate upscale boutique property; and the Lodge at Marconi, which evolved from a historic radio receiving station and later Synanon headquarters in the 1960s before becoming an inspired outdoor retreat set over Tomales Bay in Marshall, California. Today, the Oliver Hospitality family includes seven hotels and seven dining concepts.

Recent Additions

I’m proud to share the addition of The Sarasota Modern to our collection, effective November 2025. Marking our entrance into the Florida market, this 89-room, midcentury-modern hotel sits in the heart of Sarasota’s Rosemary Arts District. Anchored by the signature resort-style pool — a destination in its own right — the hotel features a cold plunge, hot tub, cabanas, and loungers. Our guests can enjoy a complimentary private ride service to nearby Lido Key Beach, complete with chairs and umbrellas. The signature restaurant, Wink Wink Food & Drink, will debut a comprehensive renovation this fall. This expansion strengthens our ability to serve loyal guests across a more diverse portfolio of destinations.

We’re also deepening our roots at home in Nashville with our first venture into residential-style lodging. The redevelopment of former apartment buildings downtown will culminate in The Nashville Reserve, by Oliver. As a Nashville-headquartered company, we’re proud to embark on one of our most ambitious redevelopment efforts here. Located adjacent to the Tennessee Capitol, the property offers corporate and leisure travelers alike the convenience and metropolitan sophistication that define Music City. Designed for both short- and long-term stays, The Nashville Reserve features studio through two-bedroom layouts with expanded in-room amenities, including full kitchens and in-unit washers and dryers. Guests also enjoy access to a full gym, an outdoor fireplace gathering space, self-parking, and soaking tubs. What makes the property especially meaningful is its sense of place. By design and location, The Nashville Reserve connects guests directly to the heart of Music City, with a refreshed design that weaves together local art, regional partners, and the overall friendly hospitality that Nashville embodies.

In keeping with our commitment to revitalizing historic spaces, we intentionally pay homage to the property’s original Federal Reserve vault, which now accents the namesake Vault Room meeting space for gatherings of up to 25 guests. With Nashville rising as a business hub and events destination for groups of all sizes, we wanted to ensure we can cater to this type of guest in our signature way. An additional and larger meetings and events space, the Treasury Room, accommodates groups of up to 80.

The Nashville Reserve marks our third hotel in Tennessee and further strengthens our Southeastern presence, which spans Atlanta, Clarksville, Knoxville, Oxford, and most recently, Sarasota. Southern hospitality remains foundational to our identity and to the regions we will continue to grow into.

On the Horizon

As a Detroit native, I’m especially proud to share plans for our northernmost expansion to date. My Co-Founder, Philip Welker, and I have been building this brand since the Great Recession of 2010 — growing from uncertain beginnings into a company that today employs more than 350 people nationally. Bringing Oliver Hospitality to my hometown represents one of the most meaningful milestones in our journey, both on a personal level and as a strategic step in establishing a new presence in the Midwest.

We’re transforming a historic downtown landmark into a boutique hotel featuring more than 121 guest rooms, a signature restaurant, cocktail bar, and rooftop experience. Designed to reflect the spirit of Detroit, the property will be anchored by a welcoming yet sophisticated lobby, which we envision as the city’s living room for guests and locals alike.

At our core, we’re drawn to historic buildings because they have such colorful stories to tell as part of the fabric of their communities. Three of our properties were originally constructed between 1846 and 1924 and later reimagined by our team. While these older projects bring inherent challenges, nothing inspires us more than uncovering strong architectural foundations — good bones — and then transforming them into creative, community-driven hubs, and destinations in and of themselves.

The complete renovation of the historic Hotel Aiken, which closed its doors in 2018, is our next major undertaking in this tradition. Our experience revitalizing legacy properties positioned us as a natural fit for this transformative project in Aiken, South Carolina. The centerpiece of the Aiken project is the revival of the former Hotel Aiken — a structure dating back more than a century — with plans for a 90-room hotel featuring a rooftop bar, restaurant, meeting spaces, and the addition of four new stories.

Beyond the hotel, however, Oliver Hospitality will also oversee the development of a parking facility with capacity for more than 200 vehicles, street-level retail, and residence style units for longer term stays expanding access and creating a more vibrant experience for both the community and visitors. We think holistically; when considering new market entrances, our team thinks through the overall neighborhood. We ask: how can we revitalize and bring new, yet familiar, experiences not only to visitors, but also to existing residents.

The redevelopment of Hotel Andrew Johnson is also in the pipeline for us, joining our flagship property in Knoxville. We’ll be reaching new heights — literally — as we transform what was the tallest building in eastern Tennessee at the time of its early-20th-century construction. A downtown beacon, we’re humbled to steward a building with such an illustrious history, having hosted presidents as well as Amelia Earhart and Duke Ellington. The reimagined hotel will feature 192 rooms, thoughtfully incorporating nods to the city and the hotel’s legacy as a hub for folk and blues music.

Signature Brand Offerings

With a network of worldly travelers who frequent our properties, we launched Invited by Oliver in 2024, a program designed to provide exceptional rewards and benefits exclusively to guests of our boutique properties. As a way to express gratitude, we rolled out two tiers of the program — one for the discerning traveler and another for meeting planners that help bring these travelers to our properties. Within our first two weeks of the program launch, we had more than 10,000 signups. It’s been a humbling testament to the brand that we continue to build.

The program is free to join, with members earning points for every dollar spent across Oliver Hospitality properties, redeemable for future stays and room upgrades. Members also receive access to preferred rates and periodic offers, along with select on-property benefits such as welcome amenities and late checkout. Additional features include priority consideration for room upgrades and early access to select booking opportunities.

We’re not a big brand, and we don’t try to be, but we want guests of Oliver Hospitality-led hotels to know that every stay is rooted in community and connection to local neighborhoods. Our loyalty program helps foster a sense of belonging among our guests, and it’s been rewarding to see how well the program has been received.

Future Outlook

Over the next several years, we’re striving to build at a cadence of two or three hotels a year — or acquire existing properties, with special attention to our Oliver brand. Any boutique hotel that we develop that fits within our Southern hospitality personality and standards will be “by Oliver.” Currently, Hotel Clermont, Lodge at Marconi, and The Nashville Reserve are all “by Oliver” hotels. We want to raise capital and coin more by Oliver properties specifically in secondary and tertiary markets, but also in additional primary markets in the Southeast.

As we look ahead, our growth will remain grounded in purpose. We’re not simply adding keys to a portfolio — we are building places that matter to the communities around them. Whether revitalizing a century-old landmark or entering a brand new market, our goal remains the same: to create character-driven destinations that feel thoughtful and deeply connected to place. This philosophy will continue to guide Oliver Hospitality as we expand into our next chapter.

The Sarasota Modern and The Nashville Reserve, by Oliver, are now accepting bookings, with room rates beginning at $229 per night. To learn more, visit oliverhospitality.com. The brand’s expanding, multi-market collection includes The Oliver Hotel in Knoxville, TN; Hotel Clermont in Atlanta, GA; DoubleTree by Hilton Clarksville in Clarksville, TN; The Modern in Sarasota, FL; The Oliver Hotel of Oxford in Oxford, MS; Lodge at Marconi in Marshall, CA; and The Reserve in Nashville, TN.