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RALEIGH - There is a new hotel for visitors in the Capital City.

The Hyatt Place Raleigh West held its grand opening Wednesday. The 133-room hotel is on Corporate Center Drive, near the RBC Center.

The Raleigh area now has 137 hotels, with more than 15,000 hotel rooms. Last year, the occupancy rate was up 4.9 percent, above both the national and state averages. That meant hotel tax collections were up 12.5 percent, setting a record high for Raleigh.

Tourism insiders said more hotels attract more visitors to the area.

“Anytime there's more rooms and more quality rooms, that does help the image of the city and we all rise together,” said Bob Ray, owner of the Hyatt Place Raleigh West.

Over the past two years, 11 new hotels have opened in Wake County, adding more than 1,200 new hotel rooms. But the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau said the Capital City still doesn't have the required amenities to compete with similar cities for major national conventions.

“We've got great hotel product here but we have always needed more full service hotels with meeting space [and] catering,” said GRCVB President and CEO Dennis Edwards. “Particularly the meetings market really needs full service hotels.”

But with new full service hotels like the Hyatt Place Raleigh West and three others currently under construction, Raleigh leaders hope more hotel rooms and high-end suites will give the Capital City a competitive edge in booking national conventions.

The Hyatt Place Raleigh West is one of the first LEED certified hotel buildings in the Raleigh area, designed to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

It includes solar panels for hot water, electric car charging stations, LED lighting, and motion activated thermostats in all the guest rooms.