It operated from 1930 until the early 1980s, and was subsequently abandoned for around 30 years, before reopening in late 2012.

The building was purchased by the Settles Hotel Development Corporation in late 2006.

Since that time, the SHDC has also acquired adjoining properties, including the Big Spring Boys and Girls Club and the abandoned Greyhound Bus terminal, which was then demolished.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 18, 2013.

[citation needed] On April 10, 2015, the West Texas Historical Association at its 92nd annual conference in Amarillo, presented a lecture and discussion on the Hotel Settles: "A Grand Dame Shines Again: Big Spring's Hotel Settles During Eighty-five Years of Boom, Bust, and Boom" by Barbara Brannon.