Refreshed to lure locals

BY THE SEA: The Newport Yachting Center has been rebranded as The Bohlin, a wedding and social-event host for  gathering such as the above wedding near the downtown Newport marina. / COURTESY NEWPORT HARBOR CORP.
BY THE SEA: The Newport Yachting Center has been rebranded as The Bohlin, a wedding and social-event host for gathering such as the above wedding near the downtown Newport marina. / COURTESY NEWPORT HARBOR CORP.

The Newport Yachting Center has been rebranded as The Bohlin, a wedding and social-event host that is “very classically Newport,” said Marie Cuccia, owner Newport Harbor Corp.’s director of sales

Interest in the downtown venue has only increased since the launch party in July, she said.

“There’s a really great buzz about it. … [We] are already seeing the impact for this year as well as 2017 and 2018,” Cuccia said.

Brian Young, managing director of Newport Harbor’s Castle Hill Inn, also oversees The Bohlin and is excited about the more than $1 million in renovations that accompanied the rebranding.

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“We had a wedding business in the old venue, but we recognized that we could meet a demand for something more upscale than what we were offering, and more evocative of Newport’s time and place, and still have it be accessible to a wide range of people,” he said of the decision to renovate and rebrand.

Young considers the reinvestment a “doubling-down” on previously held assets, and expects quick growth, estimating, “at least for the next couple years, healthy double-digit increases in The Bohlin, in particular.”

The main goal of the renovation was to diversify the portfolio of NHC wedding, social event, fundraiser and corporate meeting venues available for clients considering Newport as a host location. And, to an extent, NHC’s reinvestment has begun paying off, according to Young.

While both Castle Hill Inn and The Bohlin retain separate culinary teams, having one sales team represent both locations equates to double the referrals.

“A couple that may initially come to Castle Hill, but either because of the price or they want something closer to downtown Newport, we [now] have an option to offer them. …There’s been an uptick in cross-selling” since the renovation of The Bohlin, said Young.

The Bohlin’s price point is lower than that of Castle Hill, which, Young explained, helps the NHC diversify its clientele, even among locals. What Young hopes The Bohlin will do is attract corporate clients from Newport, and across Rhode Island, to host midweek events.

“We see an opportunity to leverage corporate business … not only larger functions, but also smaller gatherings that want to be in the middle of the action,” he said.

The centerpiece of the newly renovated venue, said Young, is an outdoor Sperry Tent made out of sailcloth and supported by exterior mahogany and varnished hardwood poles. The tent can house anything from a dining or mingling area to a dance floor, depending on the event.

“It makes a statement regardless of whether you’re looking for a social engagement or a corporate event,” Young said.

Downtown Newport’s marina has always been a hangout for locals, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, said Cuccia.

“Now that we’ve refreshed the brand [we hope] locals will be more attracted to come back and do repeat events,” she said. “It’s more in line with what people are looking for.” •

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