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Bachelorette parties and other groups traveling to Nashville will have a new lodging option come mid-November: Bode.
The Rutledge Hill property at 401 Second Ave. S. markets itself as a “group-friendly hotel alternative” with the ability to book a shared unit for a group of 12 people celebrating an upcoming nuptial or a single room for a traveler in town for business.
Nashville is the first of several locations for the newly launched Bode brand, which already plans to expand to Chattanooga and three markets in California. The company says it combines the best of a hotel experience with the desirable qualities of a vacation rental.
“I think Nashville is the pinnacle of group lifestyle travelers. It’s just bursting with culture. People are coming here to listen to music, see art, have good dining experiences, and these are all things the guests really crave,” said Bode CEO Philip Bates.
Bode will come online about a year and a half after a group of Nashville investors led by real estate broker Rob Lowe purchased the 1.85-acre site south of downtown for about $18 million. There were 40 condo units in the 1986-built structure before it was renovated for Bode.
Bode worked with a talented local design team on the project, including architecture firm DAAD, lighting design company Southern Lights Electric, leather goods company Emil Erwin and custom furniture maker Kings Interiors.
“We didn’t want to tear it down and do something else, or add to it, so we embraced the units and rooms. We reworked floor plans,” Bates said.
Bode has 40 units with 110 total bedrooms, ranging from a 200-square-foot, one-bedroom unit with a king-size bed for up to two people, to a 2,200-square-foot, five-bedroom unit with four king-size beds and two extra-large twin bunk beds for up to 12 people. The units have living rooms and kitchens, and some have city-view balconies or fenced-in backyards.
Rates start at $200 per night for a one-bedroom, $380 per night for a two-bedroom, $550 per night for a three-bedroom and $1,075 per night for a four-bedroom. Bode is now accepting reservations.
Bates said it can be difficult to find lodging online for “group lifestyle travelers,” such as a bachelor or bachelorette parties. Those groups are flocking to Nashville every weekend and they’ve become a key segment of Music City’s booming tourism industry.
“These bachelorettes who are young, working professionals and want to come here and have a good time and reunite with their friends, absolutely, that’s a big part of what we’re targeting,” Bates said.
Shared amenities at Bode include fire pits, an outdoor stage for live music, pingpong tables and cornhole.
“The Hub” is a cafe and market space where guests can socialize or grab ingredients to make dinner in their units. The cafe will have coffee provided by Nashville’s Stay Golden, pastries from Frothy Monkey and light breakfast options. An on-site pub will serve cocktails, beer, wine and light fare such as charcuterie plates with cheese from Bloomy Rind.
Bode brings another lodging option to Nashville during a time of unprecedented growth in the city’s hotel market. Since 2013, some 5,000 new hotel rooms have come online in Davidson County, and more than 10,000 are under construction or in planning stages, per data from the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
This year there has been an influx in boutique hotel options, where developers are wielding high-end amenities as a key marketing tool.
Bates said the Bode team knows Nashville is a highly competitive market right now, but he also believes the brand is different from the other available lodging options.
“We just think our product is really differentiated from what we offer, to our location, to our brand, so I’d say we’re not as concerned about (the competition), and we also just believe in the long-term growth trajectory of Nashville,” Bates said.
Reach Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.
