THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 5, 1997 TAG: 9701030253
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 194 lines
THIRTY-ONE YEARS ago, a Holiday Inn was built on Portsmouth's waterfront - a symbol of modern waterfront redevelopment with a price tag of $2.5 million.
Modern was the word then.
Today, the aging inn is spending close to $3 million on a renovation project that will help it blend in better with the city's past.
Among other things, the renovation project will add a Williamsburg red mansard roof to give the exterior more of an old English look. The face lift is designed to complement the Olde Towne neighborhood, which in the last two decades has emerged as Portsmouth's best claim to tourists.
``We're going to have a new look on the exterior of the building, but more importantly the great majority of our funds are being used to upgrade the . . partner of Portsmouth Hotel Associates, which owns the hotel.
``We're in a very competitive business, and the guest knows how to perceive value,'' said Zodda. ``The guest is much more sophisticated than he was a few years ago.''
Thomas O. Farrell, general manager of the Portsmouth Holiday Inn, calls the interior emphasis focusing on what ``impacts our guests directly.''
The 272 guest rooms and about 10,000 square feet in banquet and meeting areas will be completely gutted and renovated.
``Really, the problem with the hotel is that . . . the last major renovation was about seven years ago, and it's become dated,'' Farrell said.
Some of the vanities, he said, are dark brown and the bathrooms have a small one- or two-inch tile, he said. The bathrooms will be redone with the larger white tiles that newer hotels are using now, he said.
The rooms are furnished now with contemporary light wood furniture. The new furnishings and color schemes will be similar to what guests find in Colonial Williamsburg, he said.
To further tie in to the historic neighborhood, the hotel will use Portsmouth scenes as artwork throughout the rooms and public spaces.
Farrell said the company has been talking to local artist J. Robert Burnell - well-known for his cityscapes and local waterfront scenes - about the project.
Of course, about 50 percent of the guest rooms hardly need a sense of place.
Those rooms offer some of the best seats in the harbor to watch river activity from tugboats and battleships to festival fireworks and the bright lights of Waterside.
Farrell said another exciting feature to the renovation plan is a canopied deck, to be constructed on the back of the hotel.
``We will probably be able to seat about 100 people, with it functioning as a restaurant,'' he said. ``It is such a great setting, it is a shame not to take advantage of it.''
The renovation project is scheduled to be completed by May.
The hotel is financing the renovation with a loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under the loan conditions, 51 percent of new employees must be low-to-moderate income.
Farrell said the hotel probably would add 40 or 50 positions - 10 of those middle management jobs - as a result of the renovation.
Currently, the hotel provides about $335,000 in tax revenues to the city and the increased business and new jobs expected to follow the renovation should increase that by 15 to 20 percent, Farrell said.
In addition to keeping up with the city's desire to have a competitive hotel on the waterfront, the renovation is also in keeping with the Holiday Inn's modernization program, Farrell said.
The Holiday Inn is requiring all of its franchises to update and renovate to stay competitive with the increasing number of new hotel chains, he said.
``They've mandated a lot of these things . . . that we've had to do to stay in the system,'' he said.
Two Holiday Inns in Norfolk were eliminated from the Holiday Inn system after they decided not to go forward with the mandated property improvement plan, he said.
Farrell said the improvement plan is needed to stay competitive in today's market.
Competition is becoming a lot more aggressive in this area because of the increase in the number of hotel rooms and the sophistication of the consumer, he said.
People travel more and business people look for certain things from fax machines to computer data ports in their rooms.
The Holiday Inn in Portsmouth was built in the mid-1960s, a three-story inn with a restaurant, piano lounge and banquet room.
In 1980, the hotel was purchased and expanded by Portsmouth Hotel Associates with financing arranged by Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority through the sale of bonds.
A restaurant and ballroom were added onto the back of the hotel, as well as 66 new rooms. In 1984, another expansion replaced an original wing with a four-story tower and 72 more rooms.
The most recent expansion gave the hotel a contemporary look, rather than a design that complemented the historic area.
. ``Obviously we would probably like to improve the design and enhance even more than we are,'' Farrell said.
But, he added, ``We felt the money was best spent in the guest areas.''
Farrell said the hotel owner and the city have been involved in a two- or three-year study to decide what direction the hotel should take.
``At one time there was some discussion about really aggressively renovating it to the extent of actually tearing it down, and that was really very expensive,'' he said. ``So it was decided to basically keep the Holiday Inn brand and then proceed with an extensive renovation that would really put us at the top of the Holiday Inn line in terms of quality - and keep us in the mid-market segment in Portsmouth and Norfolk.''
Farrell said the Omni and the Marriott hotels across the river are on the higher end of the hotel market in terms of room rates.
``We feel we can position ourselves better in that mid-market . . . after the renovation is completed,'' he said.
Business at the Portsmouth hotel was good this year, Farrell said, with 50 percent coming from conventions and meetings.
But, he added, the hotel has probably lost some business because of the ``tired condition of our rooms. I think with the renovations and the upgrade in furniture, we'll get a lot of that lost business back.''
Such renovation projects are important to compete in the industry today, he said.
``It can't be something you do every 10 years,'' he said. ``It has to be done on a regular basis. It is so easy to lose business . . . when you have a brand new hotel down the street and your hotel is 30 years old.''
Competition down the street, instead of across the river, could become a reality if the city has its way and manages to woo a major hotel to this side of the river.
Seeking to stake a larger claim to the area's convention market, city officials want to attract an upscale hotel - in the class of a Marriott or a Hyatt - to the waterfront. It would be accompanied by a convention center that would cover 25,000 to 50,000 square feet and would be owned by the city. A site has not been chosen for the hotel and convention center, but city officials say they want it close to the Holiday Inn.
A study to determine whether Portsmouth can support another hotel and a convention center will be completed later this month, City Manager Ron Massie said.
Massie said he thinks the Holiday Inn and a new hotel both could thrive in the city.
``We would see the two properties working in tandem,'' he said. ``That's why we want them close together.''
Farrell said he hasn't determined how he feels about another hotel coming to the city.
``I don't know if I'd classify it as a threat,'' Farrell said of the prospect of a neighboring competitor. ``I think any time you have competition coming in, you're concerned about it.''
But, he added, ``We feel that since the city is working with us with this HUD loan that they would give us an opportunity to compete equally with them. After all, we feel we're in the same boat on this.''
Farrell said he is not sure the city could support another large hotel, especially a higher rate hotel such as the Marriott or Omni.
``The way I look at it - if you look at the major players . . . Marriott, the Omni and us and all of a sudden you add another 300- or 400-room property without doing anything to attract business here, it's going to hurt everybody.''
Zodda has heard ``some talk'' of a new major hotel on the Portsmouth waterfront but doesn't see it happening in the near future.
``I think when our facility is completely renovated . . . for the here and now, we can more than satisfy Portsmouth needs from a rooming and conference standpoint,'' he said.
Zodda added that he was not critical of the city for looking forward on the possibility of a new hotel.
``I think you have to look forward if you want to be an aggressive and progressive city,'' he said.
But, he added, ``If everything started in a positive direction tomorrow, it's going to be three or 3 1/2 years before you're ready to rent the first room.''
Zodda also doesn't dispute city officials' theory that two hotels could actually be good for each other in the future.
``No question about that,'' he said. ``Hotels can very well complement each other. You have the best example . . . the Omni and the Marriott.'' MEMO: Staff writer Battinto Batts Jr. contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Staff color photo on cover by MARK MITCHELL
This is how the Holiday Inn looks from Olde Towne today
Color sketch on cover by AMERAIL
Architect's sketch shows exterior of Holiday Inn-Portsmouth after
renovation
Staff photos by MARK MITCHELL
Thomas O. Farrell, general manager of the Portsmouth Holiday Inn,
stands in front of the modern-looking hotel, which is getting a face
lift. He said the hotel probably would add 40 or 50 jobs as a result
of the renovation.
The present restaurant-lounge area of the hotel offers a panoramic
view of the Norfolk waterfront and activity on the river, as do
about half of the guest rooms.
The lobby of the Holiday Inn-Portsmouth Waterfront has a modern look
that was popular when it was built 31 years ago. The 272 guest rooms
and about 10,000 square feet in banquet and meeting areas will be
completely gutted and renovated. With the renovation, the interior
will take on more of a Williamsburg look, with upgraded furnishings.
To further tie in to the historic neighborhood, the hotel will use
Portsmouth scenes as artwork throughout the rooms and public spaces.
Sketch courtesy of AMERAIL
Another feature of the renovation plan is a canopied deck, to be
constructed on the part of the hotel that overlooks the Elizabeth
River. The deck will function as a restaurant, seating about 100
people.