Monday, July 12, 2010

“County considering bigger hotels in Bethesda, other communities” plus 3 more

“County considering bigger hotels in Bethesda, other communities” plus 3 more

County considering bigger hotels in Bethesda, other communities

Posted: 12 Jul 2010 11:40 AM PDT

Montgomery County Council members are considering a move that would allow larger hotels in commercial centers such as Bethesda.

A zoning change, proposed to the council June 22, would allow new hotels to qualify for additional density now provided to mixed-use construction in commercial business district zones in Bethesda, Wheaton, Silver Spring and Friendship Heights. If approved, new hotels designed as mixed-use developments could qualify for as much as a third more square footage than currently allowed.

County Executive Isiah Leggett, who is seeking the change, believes more hotel space will be needed in the near future, specifically in Bethesda, where demand is expected to grow for several reasons. These include increased tourism, more conventions and the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure efforts that will bring 2,500 new jobs to the National Navy Medical Center campus when the Walter Reed Army Medical Center relocates from Washington, D.C. in September 2011.

"It's a response to the times we're in," said Diane Schwartz Jones, Leggett's assistant chief administrative officer. "There's demand in these areas for good, viable mixed-use projects."

Montgomery County has 9,443 hotel rooms, 3,832 of which are in Bethesda's 13 hotels and motels.

Detractors say the change is another way to get around zoning rules, essentially creating situations where construction is permitted beyond capacity.

"It makes a mockery out of the master plan process, which sets the allowable densities in these communities," said County Councilman March Elrich (D-At Large) of Takoma Park. "Why have the rules if you are going to exempt anyone who says they want to build something that we don't allow?"

County Councilman Michael Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown supports the measure, as it focuses commercial growth in business centers. Knapp said additional density — in this case for a combination of retail, office and lodging space — helps incentivize construction in urban locations.

"As the county grows from a suburban community to a place of over 1 million people we can't expect to have it all spread out, we want dense, mixed-use corridors like this," he said.

Business concerns

Some in the hotel industry believe that while developers may be willing to build larger hotels, growth in the county's lodging industry could be unsustainable.

"We're already going to see new hotels here as early as next year; any more will only saturate the market even more, and we're already pretty saturated right now," said Tom Wolf, general manager of the 390-room Hyatt Regency Bethesda. "...We're losing business as it is."

Worldwide lodging industry expert Smith Travel Research reported a gradual decline in Montgomery's hotel occupancy rates over the past four years, as well as a decline in the county's average daily costs.

In 2006, lodging facilities were charging about $126.98 per room, filling about 65 percent of their capacity in Montgomery County. At the end of the first quarter of 2010, rates had dropped to $119.73 with a 58 percent occupancy rate.

Estimated revenues for the industry in Montgomery reached $270.68 million in 2008, but have since fallen to $249.49 million in 2009 and $57 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Kelly Groff, executive director of the Conference and Visitors Bureau of Montgomery County, said the county's hotel industry has seen a slow recovery and rise in demand in recent months. In February, occupancy rates were up nearly 10 percent from February 2009; in March, they were up 15 percent.

Still, Wolf said, the Bethesda hotel industry mainly serves visitors coming from local small business conferences and vacationers in the Washington D.C. area. That's a customer base he doesn't believe is growing significantly.

"We see a lot of people coming for business meetings; we're not a big city with huge conventions — I don't see there being a big demand next year," he said. "Obviously, we're going to bounce back a little from the drop we saw, but I don't think demand will ever outgrow our supply."

Building bigger hotels

What's being proposed?

A zoning change that would allow added density for the following new buildings:

*rooming houses

*boarding houses

*tourist homes

*hotels

*motels

*tourist courts

*motor courts

*tourist camps

What's the current status?

A proposal to the County Council was submitted by County Executive Isiah Leggett's office June 22.

What's next?

The County Council is scheduled to discuss the proposal July 27.

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Gaylord 2Q revenue up despite Nashville closure

Posted: 12 Jul 2010 12:41 PM PDT

CoMMingle Offers Free Social Media Marketing Audit

Posted: 12 Jul 2010 08:57 AM PDT

"While most hotels over the past year have jumped into social media marketing by establishing 'free' Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, they are now realizing that unless they commit time and resources to these channels their efforts can negatively impact their branding online," said DJ Vallauri, CoMMingle's Founder & President. "Social media marketing is not as 'free' as many hoteliers many have thought, there is a real cost in doing it right and driving revenue. Our CoMMingle social media marketing audit helps to identify areas hotels can improve upon."

CoMMingle's free social media marketing audit benchmarks the hotel's online social presence based on four critical success factors (CSF), Planning, Socializing, Engagement and Measurement. Each CSF is scored by a manual review performed by a CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Manager and generates an overall social media score for the hotel. The audit and the hotel's social score is then reviewed with the hotel.

Richard Walsh, Vice President of Business Development commented about the status of social media and the CoMMingle free audit, "Social media marketing is about the hotel's online reputation maintenance and relationship building between the hotel and its guests and potential guests. This investment produces word of mouth branding, sales leads, positive consumer relationships and new business. A successful social media marketing initiative encompasses a hotel's online reputation, social presence and viral network relationships. Each of these areas is interconnected with each other and should be an integral part of the hotel's overall marketing plan. The hotel management and staff must commit its marketing skills, public relations, management time and revenue management to this effort in order to be successful."

CoMMingle by Lodging Interactive was launched less than a year ago and includes clients such as The Waldorf=Astoria, the Boston Harbor Hotel, the Maison Dupuy Hotel and The Alex Hotel.

Hotels can visit www.CoMMingle.me to schedule their free social media-marketing audit.

About Lodging Interactive & CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Agency

Lodging Interactive, headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, is an award winning leading provider of Internet and Social Media Marketing services to the hospitality, spa and restaurant industries. The company provides a portfolio of effective hotel internet marketing services to hundreds of hotels, resorts, timeshares, spas and restaurants. Clients include branded hotels from nearly every major brand as well as prestigious, landmark independent hotels.

Through its CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Agency operating division, the Company offers hospitality focused and fully managed outsourced hotel social media marketing.

Lodging Interactive is a member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and is a proud supporter of the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI). For more information contact Richard Walsh, Vice President of Business Development at sales@lodginginteractive.com or at 877-291-4411. The company's website is located at www.LodgingInteractive.com.

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Meadows Bank Provides $6.0 Million USDA Financing to Ruby Vista Lodging Associates, LLC dba Marriott TownPlace Suites

Posted: 12 Jul 2010 02:24 PM PDT

SOURCE: Meadows Bank

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - July 12, 2010) -  Meadows Bank, a full service community bank specializing in Small Business Administration (SBA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans, headquartered in Las Vegas, NV, announced today it has provided $6.0 million in USDA Rural Development financing to Ruby Vista Lodging Associates, LLC to construct an 85 room Marriott TownPlace Suite hotel in Elko, NV.

"Meadows Bank did a remarkable job in getting us a USDA guaranteed loan for the construction of our project in Elko, NV," said Nate Taylor, VP of Development for Ruby Vista Lodging Associates, LLC. "The bank's government guaranteed lending department was instrumental in guiding us through the paperwork and processes required to qualify for a USDA Rural Development loan." Ruby Vista Lodging Associates, LLC is comprised of members who own, manage and operate approximately nine Marriott flagged hotels in the West since 1992.

"Meadows Bank is proud to be financing this project in rural Nevada, which will create in excess of 40 new jobs at a time when Nevada's unemployment level is among the worst in the nation. We are pleased to have the USDA as our partner in providing this financing and look forward to partnering with the USDA on future financing requests," said Cal Regan, Senior Vice President and SBA Manager for Meadows Bank. 

About Meadows Bank: Meadows Bank is a community bank headquartered in Las Vegas, NV with loan production offices in Salt Lake City, UT and Sacramento, CA. Meadows Bank specializes in SBA and USDA Rural Development lending and has a full staff of loan officers, underwriters and processors dedicated solely to SBA and USDA lending. The bank started its government guaranteed lending department in January, 2010 by hiring a team of experienced SBA/USDA lenders, processors and underwriters. The experience of this team makes the process of applying for and receiving an SBA or USDA loan more efficient than at a bank that does not specialize in government guaranteed lending. For more information on obtaining an SBA or USDA loan through Meadows Bank, please contact one of our SBA Loan Experts at 702-471-2265 or visit our website at www.meadowsbank.com

Media Contact:
Calvin Regan
Email Contact
phone (702)471-2040

Click here to see all recent news from this company

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