Bank Of America To Build Ritz-Carlton

Seeking to ensure the availability of a deluxe lodging option in its headquarters city of Charlotte, N.C., Bank of America last year agreed with deluxe hotel operator Ritz-Carlton to build a 150-room property, predominately for use by Bank of America employees and clients, by the end of 2008.

The Ritz-Carlton Charlotte at Bank of America Corporate Center, will be the only five-star hotel in Charlotte and have 13,600 square feet of meeting space with 120 deluxe rooms and 30 suites. "They feel they are a major global player, but don't have any kind of hotel in town that is appropriate for their clients," said Simon Cooper, Ritz-Carlton's president and COO, adding that the Ritz-Carlton would not be in Charlotte if not for this project. The hotel will cost roughly $60 million to build.

Robert Vail, senior vice president of Bank of America and one overseer of the project, said the decision to build a deluxe property was brought about by Bank of America chairman and CEO Kenneth Lewis. "He recognized the need for a world-class luxury hotel in the city of Charlotte, and our executives, vendors and customers were looking for that kind of service as well," said Vail. "So we approached Ritz-Carlton."

Charlotte boasts seven Fortune 500 companies and a population that exceeds 1.5 million. Hotel occupancies also are beginning to swell, as more business travel is directed toward the city. According to Smith Travel Research, occupancy rates in Charlotte are inching toward 70 percent and are at their highest levels since 1999. Last year, the city reported a 9.2 percent annual rise in hotel occupancy, compared with the national rate of 3.2 percent.

However, ensuring availability was not Bank of America's primary goal. "It's really about creating a level of amenity that wasn't available in the city prior to the announcement of the hotel. It wasn't so much a squeeze in occupancy as much as it was a need for a higher-level amenity," Vail said.

While the hotel primarily will be for use by Bank of America personnel and customers, it also will cater to other corporate travelers and groups in Charlotte, which should generate a healthy return on Bank of America's investment. "It'll be another source of revenue," said Vail. Bank of America will wholly own the property and Ritz-Carlton will operate it.

Bank of America made many suggestions to Ritz-Carlton regarding the composition of the property. There will be 30 suites, so all board members could be accommodated if necessary, Cooper said.

This is not the first time that a company has similarly approached Ritz-Carlton. Auto manufacturer Volkswagen in 2000 opened its own Ritz-Carlton adjacent to its executive offices in Wolfsburg, Germany.