      
|
||
|
PO Box 1212 Tampa, FL 33601 Pinellas Updated January 2006
|
|
RETURN TO NEWS INDEX
Hotels Rise, Rename, Revamp
TAMPA - The Radisson Riverwalk Hotel Tampa is now the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel.
The Wyndham Harbour Island Hotel is soon to become a Westin.
Name changes are just part of the transformation in the evolving downtown hotel market. At least four hotels plan major renovations or have completed projects in recent months, and a 23-story, 360-unit Embassy Suites Hotel is set to open in June - the first new downtown hotel in six years. Six other hotels are on the drawing board for the downtown area.
The increased competition, rising demand for downtown rooms and an emphasis on upscale branding also are contributing to another change for some hotels: a sizable bump in rates.
Among the hotels undergoing renovation: the renamed Sheraton completed a $10 million renovation in December, and the Hyatt Regency Tampa, Tampa Marriott Waterside and the Wyndham are slated for major, multimillion dollar interior changes.
Increased competition is just one factor in their renovation plans, hotel managers say; downtown hotels have been due for renovation. Hotels normally do "soft" renovations - new carpet and beds - every five years, and major interior renovations every seven years.
"You don't want your hotel dated," said Terrence Rice, director of sales and marketing for The Sheraton. "You renovate to stay modern and keep up with hot colors and design."
New owners also like to put their own imprint on the property, Rice said.
Downtown Market Is Strong
They are willing to pay a premium to be part of the downtown market. The Sheraton changed ownership in 2004. The new owners, DHM Tampa Hotel Limited, paid $17.5 million to Bayshore Hotel Limited in December 2004 for the six-story, 277-room hotel. Bayshore had purchased the hotel for $7.2 million in 1996.
Hotel investments reflect the strength of Tampa's hotel market, particularly the top properties, which depend on business and convention travelers. Business travel declined slightly after the Sept. 11 attacks but has recovered in recent years.
Hotels usually break even at 55 percent to 60 percent occupancy. Occupancy rates among downtown hotels exceeded 70 percent in 2005, said Bob Morrison, executive director of the Hillsborough County Hotel & Motel Association.
That demand has prompted rate increases. Average hotel room prices increased to $118.54 in 2005 from $109.30 in 2004, according to Smith Travel Service, a firm that tracks hotel data.
Hotel consultants told Tampa hoteliers more than a year ago that their rooms are underpriced by at least 5 percent compared with similar markets.
Hotels then started raising their rates. At the Sheraton, renovations in December helped the hotel boost its rates by much more. The Sheraton raised its standard winter rate 34 percent, from $119 to $160 a night.
"Business travelers are willing to pay more for a good product," Rice said.
Even with the higher rates, occupancy has increased from 80 percent to 90 percent this season, Rice said.
Occupancy has been so strong at Tampa Marriott Waterside that the hotel has been charging much more than the $160-a-night standard winter rate, general manager Mary Scott said.
"We're quoting people $340 a night, and they're not blinking an eye," she said.
That's before $10 million in renovations planned for 2007.
A Touch Of Luxury
Many of the hotels' renovations include upscale touches, from the latest colors and designs to luxurious furniture and bedding.
Sheraton has branded its product the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper, a bed with a top-of-the-line pillow-top mattress, loads of pillows and a down comforter.
When the Wyndham Harbour Island becomes a Westin Hotel in March or April, the hotel plans to install the Westin Heavenly Bed, a luxury bed introduced six years ago that has proved so popular it has forced competitors to follow its lead.
General manager Jim Percolli said it is too early to discuss how renovations will affect pricing.
Scott, of the Marriott, said hotels expect to raise rates to recover construction costs.
The 717-room downtown Marriott, Tampa's largest hotel, plans its overhaul in part because of what's going up just across the street - the Embassy Suites.
The 521-room Hyatt Regency Tampa plans to spend $9 million on its renovation, slated to begin in July, general manager David Beecham said.
"This is a very vibrant market," he said.
|
|