The Trenton Times published the following article on April 22, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Renovations to turn Trenton Marriott into a Wyndham will cost city nearly $3M
By Erin Duffy/The Times of Trenton
on April 22, 2013 at 5:37 PM, updated April 22, 2013 at 5:38 PMTRENTON — Rebuilding a struggling hotel and switching franchises will cost you.
That’s what city officials and hotel board members learned today at a presentation estimating it will cost nearly $3 million to renovate the Trenton Marriott and transition it from a Marriott-brand hotel to a Wyndham.
The Marriott announced last year it wouldn’t extend its franchise agreement with the city-owned hotel and would pull out June 14. The hotel board has selected Wyndham as its successor, but is still negotiating a contract with the company and Marshall Hotels & Resorts. Mayor Tony Mack and business administrator Sam Hutchinson met with Wyndham executives this afternoon.
Members of the Lafayette Yard Community Development Corp. board overseeing the hotel were told months ago it could cost $2 to $4 million to refresh the 11-year-old hotel and bring it up to Wyndham standards.
But Wyndham and incoming management company Marshall Hotels and Resorts have now drafted a $2.3 million preliminary plan pinpointing all the upgrades and updates the Marriott needs to attract new customers and fit Wyndham brand requirements.
“You can’t just put new sign on the hotel and expect people to come in,” Michael Getzey, Marshall’s president of construction, told board members.
So that means everything Marriott must go. Getzey said items ranging from the Marriott directional signs posted on city utility poles to pens, garbage cans to ice buckets, must be removed and replaced. Even items without the Marriott logo — in-room coffee machines, mattresses, bed linens — must be replaced with Wyndham’s preferred brands and vendors, at an estimated cost of $275,000.
“What do we do with all the items we’re getting rid of?” asked Councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, who sat in on one presentation with Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson and Mayor Tony Mack. “Can we reuse or donate them? Today is Earth Day.”
Getzey said hotels would sometimes donate items to homeless shelters or the Salvation Army, but said the recent resurgence of bedbugs left many groups leery about accepting used furniture.
Bradley Moore, the director of design for Corporate and Franchise Interiors, a company that works with Marshall on PIPs and transition plans, said he didn’t think the Marriott needed a full makeover or remodel but could use new carpets and upholstery, upgraded guest bathrooms and a more stylish, visible bar/lounge area in the lobby. The roof might also need some repairs.
“We’ve got to have a strong impact and strong expectation when you first walk into the hotel,” Moore said. “It’s a handsome building and expectations are high. But the minute you walk in, it’s just tired. We need to put some contemporary elements into it that would pop it up a little.”
And that means starting with the bar, a small space at the end of a labyrinth of hallways and corridors, Moore said.
“To say right now the bar is a well-kept secret is an understatement, plus it has no identity,” he said. “It’s like a food court pub, a food court bar you need a map to get to. That’s going to end up being the core of the building. You need to have a sense of place, you have to know you’re in Trenton, not Kansas City.”
“What’s the name of the restaurant?” he continued. “It’s a shame I have to ask.”
The hotel badly needs new carpeting — hallway carpets are stitched together with matching duct tape — but the guest rooms are in decent shape and shouldn’t need too much work beyond some new carpets and lights, he said. In 2010, about $1 million in state Urban Enterprise Zone funds was set aside for renovations and flat-screen TVs for rooms and the PIP estimates another $872,000 for room improvements.
If the board and Wyndham can agree on the work and costs, all interior improvements could be completed within nine months, Getzey said.
In addition to the $2.3 million PIP, Marshall has identified more than $500,000 in transition costs, $36,410 of which will be picked up by Marshall and Waterford Hotel Group, the hotel’s current manager. Those costs include new signs, a public relations campaign and a new reservation and property management computer system.
During the presentation, there was no specific mention of who would be paying for the renovation costs, but it’s widely accepted that the city will have to pick up the tab.
Marshall has said it could explore some financing options, but the city’s administration and council will ultimately decide whether the city will continue to prop up the money-losing hotel.
Mack, who has said he’d prefer to sell the hotel, remained noncommittal in brief remarks he made to the Marshall representatives.
“We’ve put a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of human resources into this facility,” he said. “We’re glad to see you’re so optimistic about the prospects of it and we’re looking forward to partnering to make it work for the residents of Trenton.”