MILTON The City of Milton is undertaking a hotel feasibility study to see if the community will support overnight lodging capacity.
The city commissioned studies in 2013 and 2016, both of which suggested Milton could support a hotel. However, neither study led to construction. There is not only a lack of lodging options, but the nearest hotels are an average of 20 minutes away. There are options in Janesville near I-39/90, but the drives get longer from there, stretching to the 20-minute mark and beyond. Those include downtown Janesville, Evansville and Beloit.
Oshkosh-based consulting firm Hotel R&D will conduct the research for the study.
The study will analyze Milton and the surrounding area. It will look at markets that are influenced by hotels, dining and retail provided in Milton. It will look at demographics and economic trends in the city. It will include rates, occupancy estimates and demand generators. It will be based on interviews of city, county and state tourism agencies; local and regional businesses; attraction and event venue management; and local and regional hotel management.
City Administrator Paul Hensch said a lot has changed since the two prior studies, including the opening of the Woodmans Center in Janesville. Hensch did not comment on why there has not been a hotel pitched since the two studies.
The study hopefully will be a strong tool for the city to use to try and attract a hotel to complement our community, Hensch said.
The city commissioned Madison-based IDM Hospitality Management for both of the previous studies.
The 2013 IDM study suggested that the city could support an 80-room hotel in the Crossroads Business Park next to the Highway 26 bypass. The Highway 26 bypass was opened in 2013. IDM cited Miltons central access to the regions corridors with easy accessibility from the suburbs of Madison and Milwaukee.
At the time of the first study, Rock County ranked 18th out of Wisconsins 72 counties for traveler spending and tourism.
In the 2016 study, it used 85 rooms in a forecast. Of 31,025 room-nights available in 2017, IDM projected 18,620 would be occupied in 2017. In 2018, it expected the number used to go up to 19,860. The number would go to 21,100 in 2019; 21,720 in 2020 and 22,960 in 2021, according to its projections.
Locally however, there was a recommendation for more development before a hotel was built in Milton.
However, Mandy Witt of McGuire Mears & Associates the Coldwell Banker office in Janesville at a June 2014 common council meeting said at the time a hotel was pretty unrealistic because of the population and the traffic counts. During that meeting, approximately five acres next to present-day Kwik Trip was identified as a potential hotel site.
You need a lot of businesses to entice a hotel to come in. Its not going to be the hotel first, Witt said.
At the time, Kwik Trip was close to opening on Gateway Drive just off of Highway 59 near the bypass.
Witt suggested businesses to be established, such as a pizza place, fast casual restaurant, bank or credit union. Since then, Bank of Brodhead opened a location on the corner of Sunnyside Drive and Highway 59 in April. Dairy Queen opened a location off the bypass in March 2021. Jon Green Family Auto opened a location off the bypass in September 2024.
According to a U.S. Census population estimate, the city had just more than 6,000 people in July 2025.
There is some excitement but I try to temper it. It doesnt mean a hotel is going to come tomorrow, Hensch said.
The study is being financed through the citys Tax Increment Finance District 9, which encompasses the eastern portion of the business park.