Delta Hotels Launches Biz-Class Club In Ottawa

<I>Ottawa</I> - While Toronto-based Delta Hotels & Resorts has been a leading-edge hotelier in its efforts to cater to the corporate market, one missing component in all but one property has been a bona fide exclusive business-class club product in its city-center properties.

In January, the chain introduced the Delta Signature Club at its 328-room Delta Ottawa Hotel & Suites in Canada's capital. The design and amenities offered at the Delta Ottawa's Signature Club are expected to serve as a template as the chain gradually adds the product to about 15 city-center Canadian properties over the next few years.

Delta spokeswoman Marilotte Bloemen said a concierge product has been operating for some time at the Delta St. John's Hotel & Conference Centre. However, it was part of the hotel when Delta acquired the Newfoundland property more than three years ago.

Hand in hand with the introduction of the Delta Ottawa Signature Club, Delta renovated its concierge floor at the St. John's property to mirror the amenities offered in Ottawa. A third club product will open at the Delta Pacific Resort & Conference Centre in Richmond, B.C., a suburb of Vancouver, in May.

Just two months after its introduction, Suzanne Ferguson, director of sales and marketing at the Delta Ottawa, said the Signature Club is "definitely a hit." On weekdays, occupancy is at least 75 percent; on some nights, it's sold out.

Like other business-class or concierge products offered by various hotel chains, the Signature Club includes guest rooms with upgraded amenities and an exclusive lounge for use by guests staying in the rooms.

Asked why Delta--which over the years has created several innovations for business travelers, who account for about 60 percent of its clientele--has been slow to develop a club-floor concept, Scott Allison, vice president of sales and marketing, said, "We wanted to make sure we could do it in a meaningful way for our customers."

The club-floor cost at the Delta Ottawa is $120 a night, $7 to $21 higher than corporate rates charged for regular rooms.

Access to the Ottawa Signature Club, located on the top two floors of the hotel, is restricted to guests who are given a special elevator card with a magnetic strip at checkin.

The Club has 18 guest rooms, each about 600 square feet in size, two two-bedroom suites and three one-bedroom suites. Each guest room has a kitchenette equipped with a stove, a mini-fridge, dishes, cutlery, pots and pans, and a toaster. Suites also have a microwave and full-sized refrigerator.

In the Ottawa property, the Club is located on the top two floors of the hotel adjacent to the Rideau River. All guest rooms and suites have balconies. Rooms on one floor are designated non-smoking, while units on the other floor are reserved for smokers.

In addition to a kitchenette, other extras include three telephones and a dataport, a coffeemaker with complimentary coffee, terrycloth bathrobes, bath sheets, a hair dryer, a minibar, complimentary Evian and Perrier water, a goose down duvet, a bronze-trimmed makeup/shaving mirror, an iron and ironing board, twice-daily maid service and turndown service, bathroom scales, free local telephone calls, complimentary daily newspaper delivery and a CD alarm clock/radio. CDs are available for loan in the lounge.

Ferguson said the non-smoking lounge looks out onto Canada's Parliament Buildings which can be seen close up through a telescope on the balcony.

The lounge has been designed to be "comfortable and provide a pampering atmosphere." In addition to CDs and a CD player, board games are available as well as a broad selection of newspapers and magazines.

A complimentary Continental breakfast is available Monday through Friday. Each evening, guests can nibble on a wide selection of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres. The lounge also has an honor bar.

In addition to overseeing the lounge and attending to guests' needs, including room checkout, Ferguson said a bilingual lounge attendant is responsible for creating a computer database detailing guests' preferences. The database is being compiled to ensure that repeat visitors have their special needs or requests met without having to ask again.