Hotels Capitalize On Capital's Convention Center

<B> Hotels Capitalize On Capital's Convention Center</B>

By Barbara Cook

<I>Washington, D.C.</I> - Although this year's long-awaited groundbreaking for the new Washington Convention Center has grabbed the travel industry's attention, many city hotels are quietly undergoing a change as well. New management companies are signing on to operate some established properties, while other hotels are renovating to meet the expanded business expected from the new center.

Marriott International in March took over the landmark 1,348-room Sheraton Washington, the city's largest convention hotel, and now has launched a $50 million renovation program. All refurbishing at the hotel, renamed the Washington Marriott Wardman Park, is expected to be completed by December 1999. There also is talk that Marriott will convert the hotel's Wardman Tower into a separate luxury hotel with its own lobby and specialized services.

The Wardman Park's main ballroom, totaling more than 30,000 square feet, will be remodeled with new carpet, wall coverings and high quality airwalls, and enhanced sound and lighting systems, according to a spokesperson for the hotel. Additionally, a 7,500-sq.-ft. junior ballroom will be developed and smaller meeting rooms will receive updated lighting, audiovisual technology and state of the art communications. All three exhibit halls will be fitted with new lighting, sound and electrical systems.

Further, Marriott plans to update all guest rooms in the Wardman Tower, and refurbish the main lobby and front desk in the Central Tower and certain guest rooms in the Park Tower. For business travelers, select rooms in the Park Tower will be designated Marriott's "Room That Works," and outfitted with a large console table and mobile writing desk, a modem jack mounted in the console top, a movable light and an ergonomically correct desk chair. Improvements specifically slated for the Central Tower include a new business center, upgraded health spa and shops.

For dining, the hotel will add an English pub, a Tuscany-themed restaurant, display-cooking cafe, coffee house and lobby bar to replace existing restaurants and bars.

The former Ritz-Carlton Hotel, home of the famous Jockey Club restaurant, on Oct. 14 became the Westin Fairfax. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide purchased the hotel in January. Known mainly for its celebrity clientele, the 206-room Westin Fairfax hosts smaller conferences and board meetings, and offers 10 meeting rooms and a 2,600-sq.-ft. ballroom.

According to a spokesperson for Westin, the branding of the hotel followed a careful analysis of the competitive market in Washington and its position relative to other Starwood brands in the city. Westin also manages the Starwood-owned Westin Washington, D.C., a 263-room luxury property.

The Ritz-Carlton name, meanwhile, will return to Washington with a new 300-room property to be located in a $225 million mixed-use complex that is now under construction in the city's northwest section. The project also will include luxury condos, stores and restaurants. The developers have scheduled completion for the fall of 2000.

Another landmark property, the Watergate Hotel, is now a Swissotel property, following its sale in June by Nikko Securities. The 232-room property is located in the Watergate complex and had a number of guest rooms restored earlier this year.

Destination Hotels & Resorts in late September took over management of the ANA Hotel property and immediately renamed it the Washington Monarch Hotel. The 13-year-old hotel features 415 guest rooms and suites, as well as meeting rooms and a ballroom accommodating groups of up to 500. The property mostly attracts business travelers and group business. New General Manager Ken Widmaier said the Monarch will receive $12 million in guest room, meeting space and public area renovations over the next year.

The Omni Shoreham, another of the city's main meetings hotels, has underway a $75 million makeover of meeting and exhibition space, which is scheduled to be finished at the end of next year.

Local Hilton hotels, except for the Capital Hilton, have been renamed to more prominently feature the Hilton name. The Arlington (Va.) Hilton & Towers is now the Hilton Arlington & Towers; the Embassy Row Hilton is now the Hilton Washington Embassy Row; the McLean (Va.) Hilton Tysons Corner is now the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner; the Washington Hilton & Towers is now the Hilton Washington & Towers; and the Washington National Airport Hilton is now the Hilton Crystal City.

The new Washington Convention Center, the reason for much of the hotel activity, held groundbreaking ceremonies on Oct. 2 for the $685 million facility, which will be the eighth largest center in the United States when it opens in March 2003. The center will total 2.1 million square feet and will be the only U.S. facility with subway and rail access directly to the building, according to officials. The center is expected to bring in more than $780 million in its first five years of operation.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was unable to attend the ceremony, but sent a letter predicting the new center "will continue the impressive revitalization of downtown Washington and the surrounding neighborhoods."

According to Dan Mobley, president of the Washington Convention and Visitors Association, the groundbreaking marked a significant step "toward our industry's goal to have Washington, D.C., regain its status as a top-tier convention city."

Winning approval of the center was not without controversy, however, and after the groundbreaking, opponents of the center's Mount Vernon Square location filed a lawsuit alleging that the city collected $55 million from hotels and restaurants to finance the center without the proper legislative authority. The city is using a portion of the hotel/restaurant taxes to pay off revenue bonds being used to fund construction.

Among the convention center's planned benefits are 725,000 square feet of exhibit space, 210,000 square feet of meeting space, 66 loading bays, videoconferencing, satellite uplinks and downlinks for worldwide communications, and 44,000 square feet of retail shops, community spaces and restaurants.

Planning for the center began in 1993 when city officials determined that the present center--built in 1983--was already too small to accommodate big-ticket events. The center currently ranks 30th in size in the United States and officials say it is technologically obsolete.