Meet Erin and Ben Napier from HGTV’s ‘Home Town’
Erin and Ben Napier, hosts of HGTV’s ‘Home Town,’ live in Laurel, Miss.
Cam Bonelli, Hattiesburg American
The finale for Erin and Ben Napier’s new show “Home Town: Inn This Together” will air soon. The four-part series followed their biggest project to date.
The Mississippi couple and their friends remodeled the Heirloom Hotel. The former Kress department store had been empty for 40 years.
“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,” Erin Napier said in a trailer for the first episode.
It was the couple’s largest project by square feet and cost, according to a trailer for the show. The new HGTV series follows the Napiers as they add their signature flair to the restoration.
The 29-room boutique hotel was designed to be the gem of Laurel. But a freak fire changed the story after the renovation was almost ready to open.
The Heirloom was almost ready last summer. The store downstairs was stocked. The cooking school was prepared to host events. Everyone thought it would welcome its first guest in a few weeks. Fans were excited to get their first looks inside.
Then everything changed in just a few hours.
If you haven’t watched yet, there’s still time to get caught up. Here’s what we know about the “Home Town: Inn This Together” before the series finale airs, including what happened to the building and when you can see the last episode.
Fire derails Erin and Ben Napier’s hotel project for HGTV show
On Aug. 26, 2025, the hotel caught fire early in the morning.
According to the Laurel Main Street Facebook page, the Laurel Fire Department arrived and fought the fire for nearly two hours independently before calling in reinforcements from the Ellisville Fire Department to help contain the blaze.
No injuries were reported since the building wasn’t occupied. But there was significant fire and water damage.
Later, the fire was determined to be accidental and caused by an electrical issue.
Will The Heirloom Hotel open?
A timeline on when the property will be repaired and open for guests isn’t available.
“If the Lord’s willing, we will keep building!” reads an October post on the Heirloom Hotel’s Facebook page.
A fan recently asked whether the owners will rebuild on Erin Napier’s Instagram post.
“There is nothing but waiting now to see what happens with insurance,” she replied on Sunday, May 10.
Erin and Ben Napier leave ‘Home Town’ touch on Laurel, Mississippi
The Heirloom Hotel restoration was the next step for the Napiers.
The couple has worked to build up their small town of approximately 18,000 people in Jones County.
They’ve renovated many homes for their “Home Town” show. The pair’s unique, upbeat style is so beloved that there are “Home Town” spinoffs, like “Home Town Takeover,” “Home Town Kickstart,” and “Home Town: Ben’s Workshop.”
In Laurel, fans can tour homes that were featured on the show and visit the Napiers’ businesses.
Their original store, Laurel Mercantile, is a great spot for gifts, kitchen goods and more. They also have The Scent Library for candles and other home scent needs. The Scotsman General Store has jams, coffee, relish and a peek into Ben’s woodshop.
Who built the Mississippi hotel with Erin and Ben Napier?
They worked with the owners Joshua Nowell, Emily Nowell, Mallorie Rasberry and Jim Rasberry. The group has been friends so long that they call each other family, and there are some blood ties.
“Erin and Jim are first cousins. Their dads are brothers. Josh and Erin went to high school together, and then at University of Mississippi, Erin and I were roommates, and Josh and Ben were as well. As for Jim, Erin was doing an art show for her senior thesis, and he came up to support her. I met Jim that night. We were engaged a year later and married a year after that,” Mallorie Rasberry said in an interview with HGTV.
Erin Napier said they all lived closely as neighbors post-college. The friend group shared a vision of bringing a taste of Oxford to Laurel after either attending Ole Miss or spending time in the town.
The show highlighted the ways their love of family and traditions were going to help guests feel at home.
Watch ‘Home Town: Inn This Together’ series finale
The finale will air at 7 p.m. CT Sunday, May 31, on HGTV. You can watch episodes the next day on HBO Max and discovery+
The series included the following episodes:
Want to know more about The Heirloom hotel?
Josh Nowell and Jim Rasberry host The Heirloom Podcast.
The series started in May 2025. This year, it includes recap episodes that pair with the HGTV show.
Contributing: Wendy Naugle, Erin Jensen
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected].
Ross Reily is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at [email protected] or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
