Erin Napier’s HGTV Hotel Dream Turned to Ash — Now She’s Finally Revealing What Happens Next

For a while, it sounded like Ben and Erin Napier’s most personal HGTV spinoff might never make it to air.

The Home Town stars had been helping close friends turn Laurel’s long-awaited Heirloom Hotel into a centerpiece project for Home Town: Inn This Together — a massive restoration of the historic 1930 Kress building in downtown Laurel. HGTV’s description pitched it as a 25,000-square-foot transformation into a hotel, food venue, and storefronts — the kind of “big swing” that can change a small town’s story.

Then came the nightmare.

The fire that changed everything

In the early morning of August 26, 2025, a fire broke out at The Heirloom. Local officials said the call came in around 5:15 a.m., and the fire was determined to have started at the top floor, with additional damage caused by water on lower floors.

The timing made it even more brutal: the hotel was being celebrated as newly restored and was preparing to welcome guests in early 2026, with plans reported for 30 rooms (including eight suites).

Erin publicly reacted in raw, emotional terms on Instagram — describing the day like a “funeral,” but also emphasizing that no one was injured and urging people to pray for their friends and the town.

So… is the show still happening?

Yes — and that’s the update fans have been waiting for.

In a January 2026 interview, Ben admitted they still don’t have a firm premiere date, but he added the key detail viewers wanted: it’s expected “later this year.” Erin said she hopes viewers mostly feel pride — not just in the renovation itself, but in what their friends attempted for Laurel and what it represents for their community.

That lines up with what Ben had indicated earlier: after the fire put everything in question, he told USA Today (as reported by TV Insider) that the episodes are going to air, and the spinoff is still expected to debut “later” in 2026.

In other words: the story didn’t end with the flames — and the show may actually capture the hardest part: what comes after a dream project gets knocked down.

Meanwhile, Home Town Season 10 is leaning into bigger emotions than ever

While fans wait for the hotel series, the Napiers have already kicked off Season 10 of Home Town — and they’ve described it as one of their most challenging seasons yet.

One standout storyline isn’t just a house reveal — it’s personal history. Erin told TooFab she got unexpectedly emotional during a project renovating the local hospital’s maternity ward, explaining that so many major family moments happened in that postpartum room. She even joked she “cried like an idiot” at the reveal — not because she planned to, but because it hit her all at once.

And in the middle of all the TV pressure and high-stakes builds, that’s the thread tying everything together: the Napiers aren’t only filming transformations — they’re documenting what it looks like when a town fights for itself, celebrates, gets crushed, and keeps building anyway.