Oliver Hospitality, the Nashville-based boutique operator that has built its name on turning historic buildings into hotels and restaurants, is gearing up for a sizable growth spurt. The company is planning to roughly double its current seven-hotel collection by 2027, keeping adaptive reuse and locally driven food and beverage as the core of its strategy. That mix of lifestyle-focused rooms and high-touch dining now stretches from Nashville to Sarasota, with a planned downtown Detroit project also in the pipeline.
Florida Push: The Sarasota Modern
The Sarasota Modern, an 89-room midcentury-modern property in Sarasota’s Rosemary Arts District, joined Oliver’s portfolio late in 2025 and is being framed around its resort-style pool scene and an expanded food-and-beverage program. As detailed by Hospitality Net, the hotel features a cold plunge, hot tub, cabanas and a private ride service to nearby Lido Key Beach. At the same time, Hotel Online reports that Oliver has put new leadership in place and is planning a restaurant re-concept slated for this coming fall.
Downtown Lodging For Longer Stays
Back in Tennessee, Oliver converted a landmark near the state capitol into The Nashville Reserve, a residential-style lodging option with studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites that include full kitchens and in-unit laundry. The property keeps several distinctive architectural touches, including a namesake Vault Room and a larger Treasury Room that can host group meetings, and it is marketed for both short visits and extended stays in the downtown corridor. Additional details are available on The Nashville Reserve and via its public listing on Booking.com.
Detroit And The Broader Pipeline
Oliver has also flagged plans for a downtown Detroit boutique hotel with more than 121 guest rooms, a signature restaurant, a cocktail bar and a rooftop experience, positioning the project as part of a broader push into new markets. Industry coverage places the Detroit development alongside other acquisitions and redevelopment efforts the company is pursuing. Those plans are detailed in Lodging Magazine.
Historic Rehabs: Aiken Approval And The AJ In Knoxville
Closer to home in the Southeast, Oliver secured final city approval in Aiken for a plan to restore the long-vacant Hotel Aiken. Local reporting indicates the project calls for roughly a 45 million dollar investment, adding four stories to the existing structure to create about 90 guest rooms and building a public parking deck with roughly 200 spaces. WRDW covered the council’s vote and community reaction, while the company highlighted the approval as a development milestone on its LinkedIn page. Oliver has also flagged a reimagining of Knoxville’s Andrew Johnson building as one of the adaptive-reuse projects it intends to steward.
Growth By Design
Oliver describes its expansion as intentional rather than a race to rack up room keys. The company currently lists seven hotels and seven dining concepts and outlines a development pipeline targeting two to three new properties a year while emphasizing preservation of local character. In an opinion piece, co-founder Ethan Orley wrote that the firm aims to double its portfolio by 2027 and noted that it operates multiple SPVs as part of its capital strategy. The company has also launched a guest rewards program, Invited by Oliver, which it says drew strong early interest. For more on the company’s outlook, see Orley’s piece on Hospitality Net and program details on Oliver Hospitality’s site.
For city officials, preservation advocates and neighborhood business owners, Oliver’s model is one to watch. The company’s projects blend restored landmarks with active restaurant and bar programs intended to attract both visitors and locals. Aiken’s redevelopment approval, coupled with the rollout of Sarasota and Nashville inventory, will serve as early tests of whether that formula can expand into new regions such as Detroit without losing the boutique, place-driven identity the brand emphasizes.
