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6PM Hospitality Assists with Hotel Launches in Manistee and Battle Creek

Manistee Hampton set to open this year; Battle Creek DoubleTree has 2024 completion date

By Kathy Gibbons

A rendering of the new Hampton Inn opening in Manistee around Memorial Day 2023. CREDIT 6PM Hospitality Partners

After years of running operations for his family’s business, which owns hotels in Midland, Grand Rapids, Grandville, and Holland, Peter D. Beukema has taken his skills on the road. Seeing an opportunity in third-party management, he and some colleagues and friends established 6PM Hospitality Partners in Zeeland and are in the process of helping launch hotel projects in Manistee and Battle Creek.

“The whole third-party management is just an opportunity to do a great job, and very few companies do third-party management well,” says Beukema, 6PM’s CEO. “So that’s kind of where we focused our efforts … we’re having a lot of conversations around that—(hotel owners) looking at possibly hiring a management company to take over their operations. They’re looking for somebody that will love their property, their team, and will ensure guests are taken care of.”

The Hampton Inn Manistee is located directly on Lake Michigan. CREDIT 6PM Hospitality Partners

One of 6PM’s first projects is a $27.5 million Hampton Inn on Lake Michigan in Manistee. A new build on the site of the former Lakeshore Motel, opening is set for around Memorial Day this year. With 102 rooms, the facility will also have a small 60-seat restaurant and bar as well as space for about 40 people to gather on the fifth floor overlooking Lake Michigan and the Manistee channel, Beukema says.

“The property is surrounded by park, all the way around the property we have boat parking in the boat launch … immediately in front of us is the beach, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, dog park, three different playground sets,” he says. “There are shelters for picnics and stuff like that as well. It’s just a great spot on the river, and it’s a fantastic spot for corporate retreats and small meetings and events like that as well.”

Another current project is a $60 million renovation of the old McCamly Plaza Hotel in downtown Battle Creek, expected to reopen as the DoubleTree by Hilton Battle Creek in mid 2024. “That’s a big undertaking,” Beukema says. “That property was condemned, but that is going to be absolutely amazing when we’re done, and it’s going to be another key steppingstone in the revitalization of downtown Battle Creek.”

The 265,000-square-foot property will include 12,000 square feet of meeting space, 247 new guest rooms, a new lobby with a gastro pub and bar, ballroom, a 15th-floor cocktail lounge and restaurant with panoramic views, and a beer garden. The hotel is connected to Kellogg Arena, which offers 30,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space. “From an event planner standpoint, there is a lot of opportunity to do more of the larger group and small group stuff, utilizing both facilities to do that,” Beukema explains.

6PM is dedicated to creating career opportunities for team members, he adds. And the company isn’t limited to serving Michigan clients as it works toward its goal of having 6,000 rooms under management by 2032. “We’re focused on developing and operating world-class hospitality properties,” he says. “We’re by no means bound by the borders of the state of Michigan. We’re looking at opportunities throughout the Midwest and nationwide, but there are a lot of cool opportunities here in our backyard in this beautiful state we call home.”

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