The expansion of one of the Lehigh Valley’s biggest engines for business and tourism, Lehigh Valley International Airport, continued recently with the groundbreaking for the first hotel on the airport grounds.
The 145-room Courtyard by Marriott is expected to open in about two years. 
“It’s more than just more rooms in the Lehigh Valley. It’s for more opportunities. It’s to enhance our quality of life, to enhance the visitor experience, and to elevate the Lehigh Valley as a tourism destination that is premier in the Northeast,” Alex Michaels, President & CEO of Discover Lehigh Valley®, said at the ceremony on June 5.
The Lehigh County Industrial Development Authority helped to secure some of the funding for the project, through four tax-exempt bond issues totaling $42 million. Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) provides staffing and administrative services to the authority.
The hotel project also received $1 million in state funding, through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
Nearly a century ago, the parcel where the hotel is being constructed was an emergency landing strip for air mail pilots for the airport, also known as Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton airport (ABE).
“Times have certainly changed. Today, ABE is one of the best small airports in the country, a growing multi-modal facility serving over 1 million airline passengers annually, a gateway to the Lehigh Valley and a key economic driver for its continued success,” said Tom Stoudt, Executive Director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority.
This year and last year, Lehigh Valley International Airport was voted as one of the best small airports in the nation, by readers of Newsweek. The more than 1 million passengers who traveled through the airport last year were the most in two decades.
The airport – the second-largest cargo operation in Pennsylvania – broke ground last year on a $40.8 million expansion to its cargo services to meet growing demand from Lehigh Valley businesses. In 2023, the airport opened a $35 million expansion of its passenger terminal.
Also participating in the groundbreaking ceremony were Tom Reese, Area Vice President of the Development Team for Marriott International; State Sen. Nick Miller; and State Rep. Jeanne McNeill.
