Loews Hotels Plans To Double In Size In Five Years

Upper upscale hotel operator Loews Hotels today announced an ambitious plan to double its revenue and room count during the next five years through the addition of 13 new hotels--two to four per year--to its existing 17-property stable.

Loews will concentrate on building 300-to-500-room properties, which will be located in central business districts. The company is targeting such locations as Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Toronto and Vancouver, on top of its previously announced 3,600-acre development in Lake Las Vegas, which will boast 40,000 square feet of meeting space. Loews hopes to begin construction on the property next year in time for a 2009 opening.

“We intend to double the size of the company, in terms of rooms and revenue over the next five years,” said Jack Adler, president and COO of Loews. “In five years, we’ll be 30 hotels. We have a great foundation and look forward to bringing the Loews service standard to a lot more hotels for our customers who said, ‘You gotta be there.’ ”

Meanwhile, Loews will continue improving its hotels, as it seeks to fine-tune its current crop of four-plus diamond properties. Jane Mackie, vice president of marketing and brand strategy for Loews, said the company will pursue a line toward ingratiating itself with its customers and ensuring they “fit in” to the brand. One way Loews plans to accomplish this is through a new training style for its front-of-the-house staff called “genuine personal engagement,” which will teach staff how to better read customers.