AUSTIN
As Austin gets set for an influx of new hotels, some of the area's existing hotel properties are undergoing remodeling projects to stay competitive.
Among the projects in the works are a massive,1,012-room convention hotel as well as several limited service properties. Against that backdrop, extensive renovations are happening at several Central Texas hotels. Operators are spending wads of cash on things such as trendy furniture, fresh linens, new flooring and wall coverings, and technology upgrades.
Soon-to-be-completed work on the top five floors of downtown's Omni Austin Hotel cost more than $1 million per floor, general manager Gene McMenami said. That works out to about $78,000 per room.
"Really, this was more than a renovation," McMenami said. "It was a reconstruction. It was almost like building a new five-story hotel on top of an existing hotel." The incoming competition prompted the Omni to rethink its renovation project. McMenami said "With all the new condos coming into town and the prospect of new hotels, we took another look and went from urban chic to urban luxury, while keeping the flavor of Austin," he said.
Downtown isn't the only area where renovations are happening. In the Arboretum area, a round of upgrades of the 25-year-old Renaissance Austin Hotel is set to kick off a in October. The property’s restaurant will be redesigned, the patio bar will triple in size and all 492 guest rooms will be refreshed.
