Laxmi is the Indian goddess of prosperity, and Laxmi Hotels owner Sushil Patel, who operates the new Hampton Inn and Suites and neighboring Staybridge Suites at Professional Circle in South Meadows, hopes that goddess showers him with good fortune.

“We will see in the long haul,” Patel says with a hearty laugh.

In addition to his South Meadows hotels — the Staybridge is still under construction — Patel also is building a 91-room Hampton Inn and Suites at Robb Drive and Interstate 80. His offerings are part of a growing trend of upscale business hotels under development throughout the Truckee Meadows and Carson Valley.

A few years ago newer business-class properties in the Truckee Meadows were fairly limited. The Fairfield Inn in Sparks with 88 rooms opened in 2001; Courtyard by Marriott on South Virginia Street with 117 rooms opened in 2001; and the Residence Inn Reno on Gateway Drive with 120 rooms opened about 10 years ago.

But hundreds of additional business-class rooms soon will be on the market in Reno.

A Holiday Inn Express at Market and Vassar streets with 96 rooms, a 91-room Hilton Homewood Suites at Neil Road and Kietzke Lane and the Staybridge Inn and Suites at Professional Circle with 96 rooms all are scheduled to open this year.

Construction has just started on a 127-room Hyatt Place Hotel at Plumb and Terminal, and the 91-room Hampton Inn and Suites at Robb Drive is in the planning phase.

Additionally, RED Development plans a Hilton Garden Inn and Marriott Residence Inn at the Legends at Sparks Marina, while Basin Street Properties plans a 148-room Hyatt Summerfield Suites near the downtown Reno baseball stadium.

Malkiat and Jesse Dhami, owners of Holiday Express locations in Carson City and Reno, plan to develop a similar-sized property in Minden.

The new projects join a number of business class properties that have opened in recent years. Courtyard by Marriott Carson City at Casino Fandango with 110 rooms and Hilton Garden Inn Reno at South Meadows with 135 rooms opened this year.

A Hampton Inn Carson City brought on 85 rooms in 2005, a year after Holiday Inn Express in Carson City opened with 85 rooms.

With so many business-class rooms and suites coming online, are developers such as Patel concerned the pie is being split too many ways?

“Absolutely,” he says, “and right now the economics are softening. The hotel market is not great, but it will bounce back and hopefully we are positioned correctly to capture that. Saturation is a concern in any business.”

Patel’s niche is suburb markets such as South Meadows and northwest Reno. He says the large number of businesses located in the South Meadows have been a boon to his south Reno hotel, while the new hotel at Robb Drive should benefit from travelers shopping at the new Cabela’s store.

Dan Hayward, managing director of Sacramento-based PKF Capital, specialists in hotel appraisal under the Colliers International Property Consultants umbrella, says there is still large demand for non-casino hotel product in the region although the acid test will be hotel operators’ ability to get good rates.

“Although there is new supply entering the market, these hotels will not saturate the market,” Hayward says. “The challenge to the hotel operator in Reno is achieving an Average Daily Rate (ADR) past the $100 per-room mark. The perception is that the casino-hotels can afford to offer greatly reduced or free room rates and thus non-gaming hotels cannot compete. However, a couple of leading business-traveler hotels in Reno currently operate above the $100 per-room mark with convincing occupancy. This demonstrates the demand for this tier of hotel product.”

Hayward, who oversees hotel appraisal in the Sacramento Valley, Reno and surrounding areas, says the availability of easy financing contributed to the sharp rise in business-class offerings. Also, major chains such as Hilton, Hyatt and Holiday Inn believe they have been under-represented in these markets.

“The business traveler was demanding more mainstream hotel properties that feature food and beverage, conference rooms, and business centers,” he says. “Many of the owners in the Carson City/Reno area are experienced operators who have ready access to capital, contractors, franchises and fundamental know how.”

Hayward also notes that all-suite properties, such as Staybridge, Homewood and Summerfield represent growth in a category that had not seen any development since the addition of the Residence Inn on Gateway Drive.

Mike Woods, principal of Sierra Realty Group in Genoa and a specialist in hotel brokerage, says the rise of business-class properties is rooted in consumer need rather than investor speculation.

“All you really had were the casinos,” Woods says. “There was no step for business. Your choice was basically an independent motel or a mid-range franchise.”

Woods says market size justifies the sudden proliferation of business properties in Reno, but he doesn’t expect much more development in Carson City.

“The Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Carson did well, and I would expect that the Courtyard at Casino Fandango also will do well,” he says. “But you probably can’t add a lot more in that category. How deep the Reno market is we will have to wait and see.”

Ellen Oppenheim, president and chief executive officer of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, says the rise in business-class offerings show that investors and hotel operators remain bullish on the region despite a sagging national economy.

“Branded limited-service business hotels represent a niche in the Reno-Tahoe market that is doing extremely well,” Oppenheim says. “They are enjoying strong occupancy and high average daily rates, and that reflects the fact that many business travelers are looking for brands they recognize and convenient locations.

“The hotel industry is very good about forecasting,” she adds. “It’s good for the region that they see sufficient opportunities to continue with those properties.”