Recent market research suggests the city of Los Banos may support another hotel. The data suggests Home2 Suites, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Holiday Inn Express and Suites by IHG, and Tru by Hilton may be viable options.
A new hotel could be built in several Los Banos locations. The three sites below topped the list. All are on Pacheco Boulevard, Los Banos’ principal street. The proposed hotel locations are east of Interstate 5 (I-5), which connects the west coast from Canada to Mexico and produces transitory room night demand. Los Banos, Gustine, and Santa Nella, all near I-5 in western Merced County, have a large agricultural demand generating cluster. The cities of Gustine and Hollister west of Los Banos also provide primary leisure demand.
Los Banos’ primary road, State Route 152, links the Bay Area to the west and Fresno to the east, serving as Merced County’s entryway. People moving to Los Banos from the Bay Area and Fresno need this connectivity. According to Los Banos, 1,800 dwelling units are planned.
Development in and around the subject’s submarket should improve the location during the next few years. Merced County is marketing many regions for growth, including Los Banos/Santa Nella, to expand its industrial parks along I-5. All of these characteristics should boost tourism in Los Banos and its development activity.
Hotel Site One: A +27-acre site next to the Los Banos Walmart Supercenter. This location is typical of Los Banos’ vast plots, which may need rezoning and land division for residential, commercial retail, food and beverage, and hotel development.
Hotel Site Two: Stonecreek Plaza retail center property: next to the recently completed IHOP, this site is suited for hotel development due to its proximity to a large base of pedestrian facilities on the west side of the city.
Hotel Site Three: Behind the Espanas restaurant on the east side of Los Banos, east of State Route 165.