By Louis Aguilar, Courtesy of The Detroit News
Detroit's once-landmark Pontchartrain Hotel, now a shuttered eyesore, is slated to reopen in April as an upscale Crowne Plaza property.
It is scheduled to be joined by a Hyatt Place at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi later in the spring. The two hotels will add nearly 500 rooms to the recovering Metro Detroit hotel scene, which at least one hotel expert expects won't experience as much growth as it did in 2012.
The larger of the two additions is the 25-story, 371-room Crowne Plaza building — known in its heyday as "The Pontch" — which is across the street from Cobo Center, Detroit's convention center.
Built it in 1965, it was a luxury hotel frequented by celebrities and wealthy business people. George H. W. Bush, for example, watched on a television at the Pontch in 1980 when Ronald Reagan made a surprise, late-night appearance to Republican National Convention delegates at Joe Louis Arena, announcing Bush would be Reagan's vice-presidential running mate.
At its height, the area's elite watched outdoor concerts and the annual Freedom Festival fireworks from the second-floor patio. And a special night-on-the-town wasn't complete without a view from the "Top of the Pontch" nightclub and restaurant.
It last operated as the Detroit Riverside Hotel and struggled for years under different names. Court-appointed receiver David Findling shut it in July 2009 when the air conditioning system failed. A Mexican developer last year bought the building.
"The deal really shows the impact of an expanded Cobo and convention business in Detroit," said Bill Bohde, a senior vice president of the city's convention bureau.
Cobo Center is midway through a $299 million renovation that will have added 22,500 square feet of exhibition space and other amenities. Last year, Cobo's convention, trade show and meeting business doubled to $200 million in bookings, compared with $94 million in 2011, according to convention officials.
The Crowne Plaza is considered an upscale hotel, catering to business travelers and the meetings and conventions market. It is part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, which include InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts. The chain operates in 52 countries; its hotels usually are in city centers, resorts or near major airports.
"I think because of its prime location and the fact that the Crowne Plaza uses the Holiday Inn reservation system, this hotel can work really well downtown," said industry analyst Charles Skelton, president of Ann Arbor-based Hospitality Advisors.
The hotel's location has historical significance because the original Fort Pontchartrain was established near it.
The Crowne Plaza development would be the second new hotel planned for downtown. Michigan's first Aloft Hotel, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, is expected to open by 2014 in the empty David Whitney building on Woodward in Grand Circus Park.
The scheduled hotel openings follow increased Metro Detroit room bookings in 2012 that resulted in the region's highest occupancy rate since 2000 at 61.9 percent, according to Smith Travel Research, a Tennessee firm that monitors the industry.
December seemed particularly brisk with a nearly 11 percent uptick in revenue per room and a 4.3 percent gain in occupancy to 51.4 percent — the best December rate since 1999, according to STR.
For the year, the Detroit area's revenue per room, a key measure for hotels, increased 7.1 percent to $49.20. The average daily rate rose to $79.51, a 3.7 percent hike from 2011.
"Michigan has come roaring back in the last few years and, because little to no new supply (of rooms) has come online, things have improved," said Ron Wilson, CEO of Hotel Investment Services Inc., a Troy consulting firm.
But Wilson said he doesn't see the hotel business growing as much this year — particularly hotels like the Crowne Plaza and Hyatt Place that depend on convention traffic.
"Larger conference and convention hotels will see slowing growth the most," he said.
laguilar@detroitnews.com
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130130/BIZ/301300318#ixzz2JU6TQXXZ
