House of Blues Spices Up Chicago's Biz Accommodations

<B> House of Blues Spices Up Chicago's Biz Accommodations</B>

By Deborah Mora

Offering business travel decision makers something unique to choose from in their quest for hotel and meeting space, a partnership between Loews Hotels and House of Blues Hospitality Inc. is taking a "different" approach to hotel management.

The hotel's East Indian and Moroccan motifs, blue leopard carpeting and bright colors give the 367-room House of Blues Hotel, a Loews property that opened in October and is located in the city's Marina City riverfront complex, anything but a conservative air.

"I wanted to match the attitude with the d&eacute;cor. We wanted to be one step up from a traditional operator, so that it would be something more fun," said Jeff Lapin, president of House of Blues Hospitality, "something beyond the traditional."

For the business traveler, it's "an experience beyond the typical management experience," said Lapin, who used to be president of Starwood Lodging Trust. "I want them to say, 'I'm going to come back here.' "

With its large iron cathedral gates serving as the entrance to the hotel lobby and Indian statues, it's been an experience business travelers have warmly received, said Tina Wehmeir, director of sales and marketing for the hotel.

"Anyone who wants to be cool wants to stay here," she said. "A lot of the customers are just eating it up."

Each room is equipped with a television, VCR, voicemail and fax machine. With the help of a wireless keyboard, guests also can access the Internet through a TV-based service called OnLine by LodgeNet. The service is available for 24 hours for $9.95.

Currently, there are two meeting rooms available, each about 800 square feet. Construction will begin this month, however, to build more meeting space and bring the total to 2,500 square feet, Wehmeir said. The rooms will be usable in June.

Other attractions rounding out the complex include a blues club called Buddy Guy's Legends, the House of Blues Music Hall and Restaurant, the largest Smith & Wollensky Steak and Chop House outside of New York, a 36-lane bowling alley and a 25,000-sq.-ft. Crunch Health & Fitness Club. Lapin said two more restaurants will be added to the hotel complex in addition to one along the Chicago River. They are scheduled to open in September.

The complex has revitalized the city's financially suffering Marina City, which until its purchase a few years ago by the House of Blues had lain in bankruptcy for nearly seven years.

"We have been able to reinvent the hotel complex as a one-stop travel/entertainment/business destination," Lapin said. "At the same time we have created hundreds of new jobs in the industry, while contributing to the city's tax base and economy."

With all the ongoing construction, one could unknowingly walk by and miss the hotel. A small paper sign hangs in the window along busy Dearborn Street amidst a backdrop of white protective sheets. Lapin attributed the lack of signage to lengthy negotiations with city officials, which delayed the process. However, he said, a sign should be in place by press time.

Lapin also is trying to market the hotel and entertainment complex idea beyond Chicago. He is hammering out an agreement with Loews to build a comparable complex in New Orleans.

In other new hotel news, Candlewood Suites in Schaumburg, Ill., opened its doors Feb. 15. Dataports, voice mail, two telephone lines, CD player, VCR and television round out the amenities at this 122-room hotel. This property was part of a plan to develop the Candlewood Hotel Co.'s Midwest presence.

In addition, groundbreaking for a new 155-room Hilton Garden Inn in suburban Hoffman Estates is tentatively scheduled to take place in May. The proposal is awaiting approval of the Schaumburg Village Board. Four meeting rooms totaling approximately 2,400 square feet are part of the plan, as well as a business center equipped with computers, printers, fax machines and copiers, said Tim Taylor, senior project director for Hardin Construction.

<B><CENTER>Only Room For Full Service</CENTER></B>

Paul Evans, community development planner for the Village of Schaumburg, said the number of companies requesting space for hotels has declined since last year. Out of 12 companies whose hotel plans were approved by the village board, only nine will probably proceed with building.

"The market's probably softened. People are trying to get a sense of what the need is out there. Most hotels are now catering to the business traveler and there are very few full-service hotels," Evans said.

Still, the ongoing construction projects around the rest of the Chicago area tell a different story.

A 300-suite Hawthorn Hotel and Suites-O'Hare is slated to open in late summer 1999. Food service for the hotel will be provided by Harry Caray's restaurant, which will be located on the main floor. Each room will have two-line telephones with dataports and a VCR.

For corporate groups, the hotel will offer approximately 2,500 square feet of meeting space divisible into three separate rooms and a 175-seat, theater-style meeting venue in an adjacent office building. A 2,000-sq.-ft. spa and workout room also will be constructed, complete with a whirlpool.

A 389-room Doubletree Hotel complete with meeting facilities, an executive center and a pool/spa/fitness area is expected to open in spring 2000. In addition to the hotel's restaurant, guests will have access to a Gibson's Restaurant adjacent to the hotel.

Also, extensive meeting space will be available at the Hyatt Rosemont Hotel, which is currently under construction.

The 206-room hotel will have four meeting rooms totaling 4,200 square feet, two banquet rooms totaling 3,120 square feet and a boardroom totaling 850 square feet. For the business traveler, guestrooms will include desks with computer hookups, two phones with voice mail and dataport capabilities However, in-room fax machines will not be offered.

The effect these new hotels will have on the local market is unclear. For Peter Lombardi, executive director of the Rosemont Convention and Visitors Bureau, the more important issue is the comfort and accessibility these hotels will offer to business travel decisionmakers and trade show exhibitors. "Anytime we can add a hotel, it's a plus on our side. I'm sure it's going to ease the hotel room crunch," Lombardi said.