diff --git a/gms/inet_address.hh b/gms/inet_address.hh
index 3157309cc9..0cd5e2e4cd 100644
--- a/gms/inet_address.hh
+++ b/gms/inet_address.hh
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ public:
     inet_address(int32_t ip)
         : _addr(uint32_t(ip)) {
     }
+    inet_address(const sstring& addr)
+        : _addr(addr) {
+    }
     void serialize(std::ostream& out) const {
         int8_t inet_address_size = sizeof(inet_address);
         serialize_int8(out, inet_address_size);