Regency Opening Expands Hotel Room Availability

<B> Regency Opening Expands Hotel Room Availability</B>

By Frank Rosci

When the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place opens next month, it will stand as the first-ever business hotel directly connected to McCormick Place.

The 800-room property, Chicago's first new convention hotel to open in the past eight years, will replace the site's McCormick Inn, a well-known property that closed in 1993. For business traveler productivity, each guest room will include an ergonomic chair, desk, halogen lamp and power strips with grounded outlets--which can hook up to computers, portable fax machines, calculators and extra phones.

Combined with the new Hyatt, said Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau president and CEO Paul Astelford, the recently opened Hampton Inn Suites and the Crown Plaza--set to open next month--will bring the metropolitan area's room count to 77,000.

The Hyatt's room, hospitality and specialty suites, combined with flexible meeting space and physical links to the convention center, will provide business travelers and convention delegates with a one-stop shopping venue, according to director of sales Mike Phares.

"The combination of hotel and convention center helps ease the city's accommodations crunch," he said.

And if the Regency McCormick is inundated with excess demand, the Hyatt Regency Chicago--only three miles away--can absorb the extra lift.

"We will have the capability of packaging the new Hyatt, the existing property and McCormick Place for large groups of travelers," Phares said.

Besides boosting Chicago's guest room count, Phares expects the hotel to be a major player in accommodating the mix of local, regional, national and international conferences that are booked at McCormic Place.

Meeting facilities will include a 12,075-square-foot ballroom, divisible into five sections; two 750-square-foot boardrooms; and 5 other rooms, four of which will accommodate up to 60 people, with space for 100 in the fifth room.

Other facilities will include an indoor 600-vehicle parking garage, a 300-seat restaurant, a 250-seat bar and lounge and a retail store. Recreational facilities will include an indoor swimming pool, health club and cardiovascular and strength training equipment.

The Regency McCormick Place is located minutes from downtown Chicago, 23 miles from O'Hare Airport and 10 minutes from Midway.