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New And Renovated

Author: Carolyn Koenig
July 2007

Features

Hold on to Your (Hard) Hat - New and Renovated Hotels are on the Upswing

PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that the U.S. lodging industry will invest approximately $5.5 billion on renovations in 2007—a figure that surpasses even last year’s record total of $5 billion.


If you’ve been in this business the past few years, this news won’t astonish you. In fact, you’ll probably recognize yourself in one of these scenarios: attending a scale-model presentation of a projected renovation or a new build; traipsing on a site visit amid “excuse our dust” signs; or arguing with a construction foreman at 7 a.m. on a Sunday that your group will not be subjected to incessant hammering as they check in.


Or, on a quieter note—literally—not being able to book your preferred hotel because one floor has been taken out of the guest-room pool for renovation.


They’re all signs of the times, and what times these are! After the uncertainty that characterized post-9/11, travel is surging and hotels are making improvements to lure guests their way (think of those wonderfully comfortable beds!).
But there’s more than an expanding economy behind the push. Hotel brands like Marriott and Hyatt are looking at the demographics and psychographics of their travelers, especially at the Gen Xers and what are now called the “Millennials,” or Gen Ys, who are beginning to elbow out the Boomers as their largest customer base.


According to PwC, what appeals to these groups are things you’re beginning to see already: casual gathering settings and places; branded equipment, amenities and products; expanded technology; informal “fun food” and grazing; and “hot spots” for Internet connections.


Plus, lest we forget, hotels are in an ultracompetitive industry, courting customer loyalty and vying for your meeting dollars—which you’re spending more of. According to PKF Hospitality Research, 83.3 percent of hotels showed an increase in total revenue last year—a figure that surely reflects the rise in average daily room rate to $140.84.
To accomplish both goals, hotels are looking at existing trends and creating new ones. Here are some properties throughout the West that exemplify these trends.


THE CONDO-TEL

A.k.a. the condominium-hotel, this hybrid is a booming phenomenon where individual units are sold as condominiums, with owner privileges, but put into a guest-room pool. They offer all the comforts of home plus the amenities of a hotel, such as concierge service, a restaurant and a fitness center.


The new Platinum Hotel and Spa in Las Vegas—which sold out in a couple of months—is a prime example. Surprisingly boutique-size for Vegas, it blends a sleek, stylish interior with 255 spacious suites encompassing a gourmet kitchen, whirlpool and private balcony. WELL Spa, on the fourth floor, offers a full menu of treatments, plus there’s a fitness center, an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, a poolside nightclub and a restaurant with hip, “edgy American” cuisine. Meeting space totals 7,000 sq. ft., including five function rooms, plus Misora, a 3,350-square-foot rooftop terrace accommodating up to 250 with 180-degree views of The Strip and mountains. Only steps from casino action, it’s also nongaming and nonsmoking, another increasingly popular trend.


PILE-IT-ON-LUXURY

From 400 threadcount linens to Bose CD players, we’re all about luxury today. And hoteliers have noticed, upgrading existing properties, creating spa-like bathrooms and building new high-end hotels in existing markets.


Ritz-Carlton saw an opportunity for their top-tier brand in Denver, for example,  and will open only the third Ritz-Carlton in Colorado this fall. With easy access to the 16th Street Mall, Coors Field and LoDo, it will have 155 rooms and 47 suites on 14 floors (an additional five floors will house The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, 25 private residential units). The hotel will feature spacious guest rooms (more than 510 sq. ft. each), suitably furnished and provisioned with flat-panel LCD televisions and other amenities. For planners, the 13,000 sq. ft. of meeting space will encompass a 6,264-square-foot ballroom, a junior ballroom, a business center and the lobby lounge, all under the care of a conference concierge. Football fans will recognize the name behind Elway’s Colorado Steakhouse, the hotel’s signature restaurant (for those who shop instead of cheer, it’s John Elway, the Denver Broncos quarterback and NFL Hall of Fame inductee).


REFLECTING YOUR LIFESTYLE

Underway right now is a $10-million project transforming the JW Marriott in San Francisco’s Union Square area not only from its former persona as the Pan Pacific, but also as an example of the brand’s new initiative. The lobby is becoming The Gallery, a comfortable, chic lounge and dining area where the mood changes dramatically over the course of the day. All guest rooms (337) are being redesigned with luxurious bedding, flat-screen televisions and state-of-the-art technology including a “jack pack,” a convenient digital connectivity panel. There’s also a “Push You’ve Got Pull” call button, which allows guests to make any request they may have, at any time, with the push of a button. Meeting space—much of it with views of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge—totals more than 14,000 sq. ft. and will be renovated in the next year.


A RENEWED SENSE OF PLACE

Palm trees, soft summer nights, a location on San Diego’s Mission Bay—they’re the stuff of Southern California’s magical lure. And now Hyatt is increasing that lure with the totally remodeled Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina, a project that totaled some $60 million. Formerly the Hyatt Regency Islandia, the name change reflects the fact that “it’s almost a brand-new hotel,” says Alex Willow, director of sales and marketing. Plus, he says, “it’s a better locator.” This major redo included revitalizing the 430 guest rooms, the addition of Blue Marble, a new organic, eco-friendly spa, a new lobby, the junior ballroom and some smaller meeting rooms (total square footage of function space is 30,000 indoors and outdoors). The two grand ballrooms will be renovated in 2008. One of the hotel’s biggest new attractions is its three pools (up from one)—with waterslides, which makes the Hyatt “a water playground,” Willow says.


On the 34th floor of the Hyatt Regency Vancouver is a ballroom called Perspectives, and that’s what you get: “beautiful views of Stanley Park and everything that Vancouver stands for,” says Manuel Sousa, director of sales. Now the superb views are joined by an $18-million, five-year renovation that was completed this month. “We took the guest rooms down to the concrete,” he says of the 644 rooms that now have 32-inch wall-mounted LCD televisions, wired and wireless capability, brand-new furniture and a slate bathroom with a gentle rainshower. Altogether, the hotel has 29 meeting rooms with about 40,000 sq. ft. of space. There’s a fitness center and an outdoor pool; Deserving Thyme Lifespa, a new day spa off the lobby, offers in-room spa treatments to hotel guests, as well.


Waikiki Beach Walk, a new, $460-million entertainment, shopping and dining district in Waikiki, has been creating a buzz since its inception. An open, pedestrian-friendly space, it evokes the feeling of “old Hawaii” and showcases live local entertainment. Now open is the new Embassy Suites Waikiki Beach Walk, a 421-suite property just steps from the beach, with an open-air, 4th floor “Grand Lanai,” featuring a sundeck, swimming pool, whirlpool spa, pool bar and covered-pavilion seating. Meeting space (1,965 sq. ft. indoors) is accessed from the pavilion. To put your attendees in the aloha mood, each guest receives a CD of Hawaiian music at check-in.


MORE MEETING SPACE

It’s no secret that hoteliers have recognized the importance of meetings to their bottom line, given soft midweek dates and shoulder seasons, and many are increasing their attractiveness with space and amenities.


Some resorts that cater to the market, like Granlibakken, on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore, are enjoying their success and building on it. A serene retreat on 74 forested acres, it has 188 rooms and 16,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space, indoors and outdoors. Last month the property opened a new building that adds two conference rooms and eight guest rooms to the Executive Lodge complex, which is set apart from the rest of the resort. All-inclusive for meeting groups, it has an all-wood interior, open-beam architecture and a stone fireplace. Perfect for smaller groups, executive retreats and board meetings, the building can be rented on its own, or if you’ve got a larger group, as part of the whole. “One of our strengths is—because Granlibakken is family owned and managed—we can cater to what meeting planners envision a meeting in the mountains to be,” says Kay Williams, resort manager.


RELAXING SPAS

Ten years ago—maybe even five—hotel spas weren’t on the meetings radar. They were small, tucked away and a little intimidating, especially for men. Fast forward to today, when spas are a meetings staple and spa-goers aren’t even metrosexuals. A spate of hotel renovations has included these relaxing, pleasurable amenities.


In Hollywood, the linchpin of the Holly- wood & Highland shopping/entertainment district is the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, which opened in 2001. It recently broke ground on Spa Luce, a new state-of-the-art spa filled with natural light, offering six distinct treatment rooms with “celebrity-style” pampering. Connected to the pool, it’s scheduled for completion in winter 2007. The hotel features 637 deluxe guest rooms and 50,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting space. Among the function space is a 25,090-square-foot Grand Ballroom accommodating from 1,800 to more than 3,500 guests, with catering available by Wolfgang Puck.


A new spa, together with 12 spa suites and a StayFit@Hyatt health club facility, are on the agenda for Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort and Conference Center in Northern California. The spa, slated to open the end of 2008, and fitness center are part of a $41-million redo that encompasses the hotel’s restaurant, lobby and lounge (completed early this year) and renovation of all 575 guest rooms, scheduled for completion in May 2008. The Hyatt, which is adjacent to Pebble Beach Company’s championship Del Monte Golf Course, can deliver more than 40,000 sq. ft. of flexible function space.


POLISHING THE SETTING        

As a backdrop, it’s hard to beat Aspen’s towering mountain peaks. The natural setting is both beautiful and inspiring, and that’s the impetus behind the final phase of The Gant’s $7-million renovation. This month, the condominium complex finishes up a three-year endeavor that has focused primarily on the property’s exterior grounds. You’ll now find running streams, indigenous rock and plant gardens, native Aspen trees, refinished pools and hot tubs, and water and lighting features. Of particular interest to planners are the formal outdoor dining terrace and a lava-rock fire pit for outdoor events, as well as the refurbished conference center (5,000 sq. ft.), accommodating up to 225 people. A total of 120 units are in the guest-room rental pool.


In tandem with the renovation is the new Wellness in the Workplace program, by-request workshops that enable planners to select or custom-build a wellness meeting tailored to their needs. Held at the conference center, they can run concurrently with your meeting.


UPGRADING A LANDMARK HOTEL

You don’t mess with a signature landmark—that is, unless you’re going to improve it. And that’s just what happened at The Westin San Diego, which converted from the Wyndham Emerald Plaza this spring. To go along with the flag change was a $14-million renovation that preserved the hotel’s spectacular emerald crystaline design but totally remodeled the rest. “We redid everything but the marble!” says Lisa Bell, director of sales. And she’s not exaggerating: on the sleeping side (436 rooms), the rooms were completely gutted except for the marble countertops in the bath. Plus, the renovation included all the meeting space (22,000 sq. ft. indoors and outdoors), all the public areas, the fitness center, the pool and the pool deck. “This is a landmark hotel, and now there’s a great name behind it,” she says. “We're very proud of it.”


RESORT CASINOS

Indian gaming resorts have become popular destinations for meetings, and why not? On-site at these new properties are posh accommodations, varied function space, restaurants, spas and entertainment, often weaving in elements that increase knowledge about the tribe’s history and culture. Opening next spring is Tulalip Resort Casino, a Four-Star quality destination located a short drive from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Freshwater creeks, forests and lakes surround the property, which has 370 state-of-the-art rooms and 30,000 sq. ft. of meeting and conference space, including a poolside area for up to 200. The resort’s deluxe, 16,000-square-foot day spa features an array of services using products that reflect the setting and the tribe’s heritage.


VEGAS RISING

Redos and new casino resorts continue to dominate the action in Las Vegas. But not all of the action’s on The Strip. A stalwart on East Fremont Street, the Golden Nugget has enjoyed a Four-Diamond (AAA) winning streak since 1977. Its size (three towers occupying 7.5 acres; 1,907 guest rooms) appeals to large groups seeking luxury in a downtown location. Over the past two years, the hotel has undergone an ambitious $100-million renovation, including the remodeling of suites, restaurants and the spa, plus its 600-seat showroom, which features nightly headliner entertainment. Of interest to planners, the hotel updated its existing meeting space, which runs about 20,000 sq. ft., and is currently constructing an 11,000-square-foot events center, slated to open this December.


Another example is South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, located in the heart of the southwest Las Vegas Valley. Only minutes from The Strip—and five minutes from McCarran International Airport—the Mediterranean-theme property has a new 25-story tower with 1,350 luxe guest rooms with views of the valley or mountains. Along with a spa and fitness center, it has an Equestrian Complex—one of the finest in the country—and 150,000 sq. ft. of convention, exhibit and banquet space.

 

RESOURCES  

 

Pool at dusk at the Platinum Hotel and Spa, Las Vegas Pool at dusk at the Platinum Hotel and Spa, Las Vegas