The Heirloom Hotel in Laurel, Mississippi, became the center of Erin and Ben Napier’s HGTV spinoff, “Home Town: Inn This Together.”
The beloved structure — owned by the Napiers’ best friends — was tragically lost in a fire in August 2025. As the owners, Jim and Mallorie Rasberry and Joshua and Emily Nowell, worked to rebuild, the group reminisced about the early days of their renovation.
‘Heirloom Hotel’ Early Days
Purchasing the Heirloom Hotel had been a longtime goal for the current owners. A dream they finally realized in 2024.
“Over the past 18 months, we’ve poured our hearts into the most ambitious project of our lives: the transformation of Laurel’s historic 25,000-square-foot Kress department store,” Mallorie shared via a blog in June 2025. “When it’s complete, this beautiful old building will become The Heirloom Hotel — a 30-room boutique hotel, a retail store filled with our favorite Scotsman kitchen goods, and a cooking school built to create lasting experiences for locals and visitors alike.”
As HGTV viewers witnessed, the historic building was tragically lost in a fire that August. The group reminisced while watching the show back about all the moments during renovation that had been forgotten.
“But one day we walked in, and I think you had texted me or called me from work. I come across the street, and you’re standing in this massive empty space that was the first floor, and there was hope in your eyes,” Jim said of Joshua, in a video shared via YouTube in May. “You had a vision.”
According to Josh, the building, which would eventually become the Heirloom Hotel, “sat vacant for some time in downtown Laurel.”
He added that owning and renovating a hotel was always “top of the list,” so they jumped when the opportunity arose.
“Ultimately, this project is the capstone project of 20 years of work,” he explained.
The team acknowledged that it may have appeared to viewers that they had “bitten off more than [they] can chew.”
“But we have many years of experience that were building up to that,” Josh explained, thanking all the local companies that they leaned on during the renovation.
According to Jim, “The great thing about Laurel [is] people in Laurel and Jones County get excited about people investing in this community. If it’s a new business, somebody moving into town, it’s like it’s one, it’s the talk of the town.”
“We want to make sure that for a small community to survive. Not only do the residents have need to be excited about new businesses, new businesses need to do their best to provide what the community needs,” he added.
Heirloom Hotel’s Insurance Battle
Now, the owners are battling with their insurance company, Liberty Mutual, to do the “right thing” in helping cover the repairs.
“Last nights episode was bittersweet. Our friends worked so unbelievably hard, and we have never been more proud to be their friends. The fire shocked everyone,” Ben shared via Instagram on Monday, June 1, hours after the season finale. “It has felt like a death of a loved one in the community. It has been nearly a year since the fire, and our friends are STILL waiting on [Liberty Mutual] to complete the claim. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know God holds us. Thanks for watching the biggest thing to happen in downtown Laurel in a long time.”
Erin, for her part, took to social media to plead with the company to “keep the light shining” for their small town.
“Our country has been in a hard time lately. This hotel and this show have shown truth and beauty, and what hardwork and true friendship can do. As of right now, your company has not approved [their] claim to have the money to rebuild,” she shared in a letter penned by an 11-year-old Laurel resident. “It is heartbreaking to watch the show and see how hard they worked. They put it all on the line. I am writing to ask respectfully that you please approve their claim. This is your chance to prove Liberty Mutual is different.”
