<B> Ritz Taps Parental Clout</B>
By David Meyer
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., based in Atlanta, is bringing the resources and leverage of parent company Marriott International Inc. to bear as it raises its profile in key U.S. business destinations. New Ritz properties are on the way in Houston, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
While having to exit the Philadelphia market at the end of this year because Starwood has exercised its option on the former Ritz property there, the Ritz chain will be back in May 2000 with a 330-room hotel at the Mellon Bank Rotunda site, formerly owned by Patriot American.
Washington, D.C.-based Marriott made the deal happen and is using its leverage to secure an uptown Manhattan property in the complex that will replace the Coliseum. What will become Ritz-Carlton's third Washington, D.C., property, also set to open next year, is being developed by Millennium Partners, the same group that is building the downtown New York property at Battery Park City, slated to open in 2002. The new D.C. property will include ample meetings space and a Reebok Cafe.
In November, Ritz-Carlton will open the first luxury property in New Orleans in 15 years at the Maison Blanc building. The company also plans to convert a true corporate location, the former Texaco headquarters in Houston, into a 325-room luxury hotel by the end of January 2000.
In addition to those business destinations, Ritz-Carlton also plans to open a California oceanfront resort next summer, followed by a golf resort and three-level spa in Naples, Fla., and a new resort, the Rose Hill plantation, in Jamaica.