The Trenton Times published the following article on February 16, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Trenton Marriott board to re-brand hotel as Wyndham, install new management company

By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton 
on February 17, 2013 at 8:55 AM

TRENTON — The public board that oversees the city-owned Trenton Marriott voted yesterday to recommend that the hotel, which has often struggled to turn a profit, be re-branded as a Wyndham Hotel.

Members of the Lafayette Yard Community Development Corp. met to hear the recommendations of a subcommittee tasked with evaluating pitches from hotel management and brands for the future of the hotel in the city’s downtown.

The subcommittee, headed up by the board’s Vice President Joyce Kersey, recommended that the board pursue a contract with the Parsippany-based Wyndham and Marshall Hotels to manage the daily operations at the hotel.

The board began looking for proposals from interested companies after Marriott and the current management company, The Waterford Hotel Group, said they would not renew their contracts with the hotel when the franchise agreement ends in June.

Marshall Hotels, a Maryland-based hotel management firm, made a pitch to the board last month, noting that there is room to profit in Trenton by pursuing business from the government, given that Trenton is the state capital, and business groups. During the same meeting, representatives for the company, which manages 55 hotels nationally, said the company has worked with hotels with similar occupancy and revenue problems that plagued Trenton Marriott and were able to increase profits.

“They have a much stronger sales force that can get into the business and bring that business back into Trenton,” Kersey said.

Board member John Hatch said New Jersey-based Wyndham had a better understanding of the Trenton market than other companies.

“This will be a great opportunity for them to be in the capital city,” Hatch said. “And an opportunity for the state to support a New Jersey-based company.”

Kersey said that while she could not speak in specifics because a contract are still in the works, the cost to contract with Wyndham will be less than the city has been paying under the Mariott brand.

“Cost, of course, is important,” Kersey said. “We are just trying to make the most favorable decision.”

Hatch said all the companies interested in taking over the operations at the hotel had required that there be renovations to the 10-year-old building. The company is “flexible” about the timeline and the kind of renovations, Hatch said.

City councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson said she is concerned about how the city is going to fund the expensive transition to a new brand. “It is one thing welcoming a new flag, but how are we going to pay for that?” she asked.

In addition to Wyndham, DoubleTree by Hilton made a presentation to the board and Holiday Inn expressed interest in the hotel.

The city owes $1.4 million in annual debt service from the construction of the hotel. Last year, city council permitted an additional $500,000 in funding for the hotel to help ease cash flow problems. Board members said they will ask the city to approve more funding this year.

The hotel has struggled to turn a profit and the occupancy rate at the 197-room facility is typically just more than 50 percent.

Board members are scheduled to go before city council to update them on the status of the hotel on March 5.

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.