VALDOSTA — Fears that a struggling national economy and the tourist-driven segment of it are being impacted by the rising cost of fuel and other factors haven’t seemed to slow progress on local developers’ aims to continue the area’s surge as a key hotel destination along the I-75 corridor.

Valdosta, in fact, is set to gain one of several new hotels being built along I-75 exits by the fall. And partners in the firm that owns the hotel — A & M Hospitalities of Valdosta — are excited about the area’s ability to maintain adequate customer flows to sustain their business goals.

A & M partner David Motley says the new Hilton Garden Inn hopefully will open in October. Located at 1702 Gornto Rd. across from the Valdosta mall, the hotel’s seven floors make it the tallest hotel in the area and possibly the tallest building in Valdosta, Motley said.

A & M, whose partners also include Jane Motley (David’s wife) and Harish Alimchandani, recently survived a round before the Valdosta-Lowndes County Board of Zoning Appeals to be able to install the 110-foot tall sign that passersby can see hovering high into the air above the hotel.

The Hilton Garden Inn (HGI) is being built on a 3 acre-plus parcel bordered by Gornto and Ellis Drive, just behind the Flash Foods store and gas station that’s located at the corner of Gornto and North St. Augustine Road.

A & M also developed and owns the Hampton Inn and Suites on Norman Drive next to the James H. Rainwater Conference Center. Motley says the company’s intent originally was to build an HGI at that site.

But a market study presented to the Hilton company to justify an HGI five years ago didn’t pass muster at that time because Hilton officials didn’t see the required demographics, Motley said.

HGIs are geared towards business travelers, while Hampton Inn and Suites are designed more for vacationing families and tourists passing through. Hilton is headquartered in Palm Springs, Calif., but is doing more business from Memphis, Tenn. because of its central air travel connections. Hilton owns Hampton Inn and Suites, Motley said.

“We inquired in 2003 about building an HGI at what is now the Hampton Inn site, but Hilton didn’t think it was quite time for an HGI in Valdosta,” Motley said. “At that time, our initial plans had been geared for an HGI, and on the some of the original documents you can see the name Hilton Garden Inn. But when Hilton said not yet, we decided to build the Hampton Inn and Suites.”

The Hampton Inn has been a huge success for A & M, so much so that the company has added more rooms. Plus, five years later, Valdosta had grown to the extent that a re-inquiry to Hilton about putting an HGI here sailed through with corporate approval, Motley said.

A & M was able to show Hilton that the Hampton Inn is drawing a lot of business travelers. Combining data on local population and business growth — including a re-birthed Wild Adventures theme park, the annual Moultrie agricultural exposition, a new annual PGA golf tournament and growing regional business at the Rainwater Conference Center — made A & M’s second round for an HGI a breeze, Motley said.

“Valdosta has changed a lot in the past five years, and it was easy for Hilton officials to see that,” he said.

Rooms and suites at the Hampton Inn are priced a little bit lower than the same at HGIs. The Hampton Inn has been drawing a lot of family business, especially on weekends, Motley said.

“We think the HGI will attract some families as well, so we’re going to try to keep room prices at the new hotel as affordable as we can. They’ll be just a little higher than at the Hampton, which is normal for an HGI,” he said.

Hilton Garden Inns have been a growing product for the Hilton company, he added.