Knoxville
- The 293-room Holiday Inn Downtown at the Convention Center, (865.522.2800), adjacent to the Knoxville Convention Center, is under new ownership, and current renovations are slated to wrap up this month. The property offers nearly 4,800 square feet of meeting space.
Smoky Mountains Region
- The 118-room Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg (865.436.0048) opened last May as one of the first LEED-certified hotels in Tennessee. The property offers nearly 1,600 square feet of meeting space.
- In Gatlinburg, the 300-room Park Vista (865.436.9211) recently completed an $11 million renovation and has been reflagged as the Park Vista-A Doubletree Hotel. The property offers more than 25,000 square feet of meeting space.
- Two new properties opened within the last year in Pigeon Forge: the 112-room SpringHill Suites Pigeon Forge (865.453.4514), with 1,200 square feet of meeting space, and the 94-room Clarion Inn (865.868.5300), with 810 square feet of meeting space.
- The 208-room Holiday Inn Pigeon Forge (865.428.2700) recently added an 8,500-square-foot conference center, bringing the facility's total square footage of function space to 11,500.
- The $25 million Titanic Museum (800.381.7670) debuted in July. The museum tells the story of the ship through the belongings and recollections of passengers and crew. The facility is available for rental and can accommodate up to 350 guests.
- Construction on an additional 18-hole golf course is under way at Eagle's Landing Golf Club (865.429.4223) in Sevierville. The new course is slated for completion this fall and expected to open by spring 2011.
Tri-Cities Region
- Two new properties opened this year in Johnson City: the 90-room Courtyard Marriott Johnson City (423.262.027), with nearly 1,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 81-room Holiday Inn Express Johnson City (423.328.0500).
- The MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort and Convention Center (423.578.6600) is undergoing a renovation and expansion. The property will add 22,000 square feet of event space by the end of the year, bringing the total square footage of conference center space to 88,000. In 2009, the resort added 110 rooms, giving it a total of 305 rooms.