Cleveland Metroparks explores hotel plan with 135 rooms at Cleveland Zoo

Cleveland Metroparks is exploring a themed hotel at the cleveland zoo, and the park system says it could place guests near exhibit views. Sean McDermott told the board Thursday morning that the idea is part of an exploratory process and that the system wants proposals by the end of next month.

McDermott said the 2019 feasibility study looked at a hotel with around 135 rooms. He added that the park system would not operate the hotel itself, but would hire an operator and share revenues.

Sean McDermott’s board presentation

McDermott told the board, "What we’re really talking about today is an exploratory process." He also said, "We’re asking the market to tell us if they believe that a hotel could be possible at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo."

He described the earlier study this way: "That feasibility study did give us some feedback, not a slam dunk, not a no" and "But that it could be a potential for a themed hotel at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, with perhaps different components like water slides, things of that nature."

The zoo drew up to 1.4 million visitors in 2024, giving the park system a built-in audience for a lodging proposal tied to zoo visits. McDermott said the Metroparks hopes to have proposals in hand by the end of next month.

Brookside Reservation access

McDermott presented four possible locations for the hotel. Three would sit within the zoo’s footprint, while one would be in the Brookside Reservation.

He linked that site to nearby youth sports traffic, saying, "When you partner that with Brookside and the potential that Brookside has for visitation with youth sports, the baseball complex at Brookside has great upside potential." The zoo connects with Brookside Reservation, which has many soccer and ballfields that attract tournaments.

Dan Moore added a joke during the board presentation, saying, "So the idea would be, the tagline would be, sleep with a bear, right?" McDermott replied, "Sleep with the bear, not the fishes."

Next proposal deadline

The park system is now testing whether the hotel can attract an operator willing to back the concept and split revenue. If proposals arrive by the end of next month, the board will have the first market response to a hotel idea that has already cleared one basic hurdle and still needs a real bidder.