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Cole Springs Conference Center reports stronger bookings after ARPA-funded renovations
Summary
Chartwell Hospitality told the Franklin Budget & Finance Committee that a full renovation and equipment investments—largely paid for with a $2.4 million ARPA allocation split between the city and county—helped the Cole Springs Conference Center return positive proceeds in recent years and improve its sales pipeline heading into fiscal 2027.
Chartwell Hospitality representatives briefed the City of Franklin Budget & Finance Committee on April 13 on the Cole Springs Conference Center's fiscal outlook, saying recent renovations and a stabilizing sales staff have improved the facilitys financial performance and booking pipeline.
City staff introduced Matt Leahy, general manager of the Marriott Cool Springs Hotel, and Andy Duncan, the facilitys food-and-beverage manager, who together reviewed multi-year revenue trends, capital work completed in FY2026 and planned projects for FY2027. The presenters said the operation has historically returned positive proceeds to the city and county in most years; they pointed to a pandemic-related low in 2021 (largest loss cited at about $296,000) and a strong 2022 when net income reached $414,000.
The presentation said a substantial set of capital improvements completed last year included a full conference-center renovation (new carpet, paint, wall vinyl and air walls), replacement of the chiller and cooling tower and a new house sound system. Staff told the committee about the funding package for those projects: approximately $2.4 million of ARPA funds, split roughly $1.2 million from the city and $1.2 million from the county, funded major systems work. Presenters also said an audiovisual vendor incentive of about $100,000 was applied to the city and county for improvements.
Leahy described how hotel and conference-center costs and revenues are allocated: administrative and engineering expenses are split on a revenue basis (typical 70/30 hotel/conference-center), the sales department is split 50/50, and catering/event-management expenses remain 100% to the conference center. He outlined a package of near-term repairs and purchases the center expects to make in FY27, including exterior storefront-door replacement, a second-chiller refurbishment (estimated ~$33,000), parking-lot resealing (~$47,000), kitchen equipment replacement and a possible scissor lift for high-ceiling access.
Staff flagged several operational pressures: staffing remains a challenge that relies on contract workers and annual wage adjustments; suppliers are beginning to reinstate fuel surcharges; and contracted services (hood cleaning, carpet cleaning, repairs) are showing price increases. At the same time, the sales pipeline shows improvement: the presenters said room nights going into FY27 were up about 1,800 compared with the prior year and that they had booked two very large groups after the budget was approved.
In committee questions, members asked whether a winter ice storm contributed materially to cancellations; staff said a large group did cancel but subsequently rebooked, and that January and February results were positive, helping offset some lost revenue.
The committee thanked the presenters and said the conference-center report will continue to be an annual briefing item as the board considers broader tourism and facilities budgets.
