Hotels use fresh approach to attracting business

NICE ACCOMMODATIONS: Josh Heidenreich, general manager of the Omni Providence, in the newly renovated lobby of the hotel. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
NICE ACCOMMODATIONS: Josh Heidenreich, general manager of the Omni Providence, in the newly renovated lobby of the hotel. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Within the past year, three downtown Providence hotels have undergone substantial renovations, with new and planned work at two of them being made specifically to attract more convention and meeting business.
At the Omni Providence, the Providence Biltmore and the Renaissance Providence Downtown hotels, refreshing everything from lobbies to guest rooms and retail and fitness space is in varying stages of planning or completion, with all three businesses working to position themselves as “unique.”
The multimillion investments being made at the Omni and Biltmore tout more than just upkeep, although representatives at all three hotels say recent renovations are in keeping with the cycle of freshening hotel properties typically undertaken every six or seven years.
At the Omni, which just completed $4 million in renovations three weeks ago, the meeting space has been redecorated, including small break-out rooms for board meetings. The lobby has been transformed with bronze, textured paint on columns and a grand chandelier is reflected in gold vinyl on the ceiling, said General Manager Josh Heidenreich.
The Omni, which was a Westin hotel until it was purchased in January 2013, is the largest hotel in Rhode Island and is connected to the R.I. Convention Center, Heidenreich said. Trumpeting that fact is among the marketing techniques the hotel is using to appeal to both business and leisure travelers, Heidenreich said. Renovations took place between February and November, he said.
Throughout the renovation process, the hotel invited local clients in, giving them tours every time something was complete, he said.
“[For] national accounts, we want to make sure nationwide meeting planners are aware of the improvements,” Heidenreich said.
Coming in late 2015 to early 2016 will be renovations to 564 guest rooms, Heidenreich added. A prototype – a model room – will be done within a month or two, he said.
Nearby, the Biltmore completed $10 million in renovations of 294 guest rooms in April and a fitness center, said Pamela Baldwin, director of sales and marketing.
“Guest rooms are completely renovated with all new carpet, wall finishes, window treatments [and] furnishings,” she said. “Every single thing in the rooms was redone.” That first phase included renovation of the grand ballroom on the 17th floor, Baldwin said, but the second, $4 million phase will include the lobby and meeting spaces. It will begin at the end of December and be done by April 30, she said. “We’re appealing to more of the corporate-meeting market,” Baldwin said.
While hotel occupancy rates for all travelers exceeded 90 percent every Saturday in October, according to Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, meeting business has been flat in 2014 compared with 2013, although the fall season was strong, she said.
“There’s room to grow in certain time frames,” Sheridan said. “We target months that would have lower occupancy for meeting and convention activity. It depends on the year, but we have the ability to look ahead five to six years and see which months might need attention.”
Off-peak conventions and large events booked in Rhode Island for Nov. 8 through Dec. 7 accounted for nearly 20,000 contracted hotel room nights, more than double the number compared with that time period last year.
Meeting or convention travel is difficult to capture because delegates to meetings don’t necessarily identify themselves with the event or book within contracted room blocks, she said.
Meeting and convention business is on the Renaissance’s radar, too, although its renovations were not targeted to that market, said General Manager Kimberly Greene. The hotel completed six weeks of renovations in September to its lobby and fitness center. Greene declined to say how much owners spent on the project. To continue to be relevant, it’s vital to be unique when refreshing design, she said.
“With this renovation, we have the juxtaposition of this stately, exterior historic property and a design concept for the interior space that really is fresh and contemporary,” she said.
The Renaissance also is planning for a host of renovations due to be complete in mid-2015, said Greene and Ralph V. Izzi Jr., director of marketing and corporate communications for the Cranston-based The Procaccianti Group.
Those improvements include updating 272 guest rooms with everything from flat-screen TVs to illuminated bathroom mirrors; renovating the corridors, fitness center and retail spaces, and enhancing life-safety systems. In addition, the hotel operators are exploring plans to renovate the Club Lounge, which provides space for Marriott Rewards Elite members, Izzi said.
“The whole intent is to get that refreshed feel,” Izzi said. •

No posts to display