The Heirloom Hotel in Laurel, Mississippi was supposed to be the crown jewel of a small town’s revival. Instead, just days before its first guests were set to check in, a fire tore through the building and the future of the project remains uncertain.
What happened to the Heirloom Hotel?
On August 26, 2025, a fire broke out at the Heirloom Hotel at around 5am local time, with firefighters spending hours battling the blaze. The Laurel Fire Department worked independently for nearly two hours before calling in reinforcements from the Ellisville Fire Department. No one was injured since the building was unoccupied but the fire and water damage was significant. The cause was later determined to be accidental, an electrical issue.
Erin Napier who is 39 has shared the news on Instagram the same day, posting an image of the smoke-filled hotel as firefighters worked to contain it. She and her renovation partners, Mallorie Rasberry, Jim Rasberry and Joshua Nowell had just celebrated completing the hotel the week before. “We held each other and watched it burning while the brave fire fighters from the Laurel FD worked for hours to get the inferno under control,” she wrote, per People. “Today feels like a funeral.”
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Will the Heirloom hotel actually open?
That is the question everyone is asking and right now, there is no clear answer.
As of May 2026, Erin told a fan on Instagram that there is “nothing but waiting now to see what happens with insurance,” according to the Clarion Ledger. A firm timeline for repairs or reopening has not been announced.
Still, the people behind the project have made clear they are not walking away. “If the Lord’s willing, we will keep building!” read an October post on the hotel’s Facebook page. The hotel team also said shortly after the fire that they intend to rebuild. “There is history here worth preserving, a story still unfolding, and a town we love too much to give up on,” they wrote, per People. “Yes, today is heavy, but we still hold our heads up with hope. We are determined to keep going, whatever it takes.”
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HGTV finale showcases the dream before disaster
Despite the fire, HGTV’s four-part series Home Town: Inn This Together still aired as planned. The show followed the renovation of the former Kress department store building and its finale, titled “Drumroll Please…”, aired on May 31.
The 29-room boutique hotel was Erin and Ben Napier’s biggest project yet in terms of both size and cost. The couple hoped it would become a key part of downtown Laurel’s revival. Speaking in a trailer for the show, Erin said, “It doesn’t matter how much progress we see in downtown Laurel. As long as its most iconic building stands vacant and empty and dilapidated, we will not feel like we’ve really done something,” according to the Clarion Ledger.
For now, it remains unclear how the project will move forward.