Austin | Austin Marriott Downtown | 386 FEET | 31 FLOORS | Complete

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

...Ritz was sniffing around back then.

The Ritz-Carlton has had Austin in its view for the past 30+ years. I believe if the right deal & location pop up...they're in. St. Regis and Edition are two others for which to watch. I currently do not have a clear picture on Andaz's temperature on Austin. Also, keep an eye out for smaller, boutique/design hotel brands in the coming years... I do not think 21c has given up on Austin either.

Having said that, I do not believe the Ritz will end up being the "brand" for the new 600+ room White Lodging project. It's too big for Ritz (even though I did mention them in a previous post). I could be wrong, however. Austin's JW and the forthcoming Fairmont will be, respectively, the second largest hotels in the world under each of those brands (if I'm not mistaken).

[austlar1]

Since Ritz Carlton is nowadays a Marriott subsidiary, it seems quite possible that White Lodging would be interested in developing a property for that brand. White and Marriott have a long relationship both here in Austin and elsewhere. Still, Ritz Carlton does not strike me as being particularly suited to the role of a convention center hotel. I would have said the same thing about Fairmont not too long ago, so who knows.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Since Ritz Carlton is nowadays a Marriott subsidiary, it seems quite possible that White Lodging would be interested in developing a property for that brand. White and Marriott have a long relationship both here in Austin and elsewhere. Still, Ritz Carlton does not strike me as being particularly suited to the role of a convention center hotel. I would have said the same thing about Fairmont not too long ago, so who knows.

Austin's convention center hospitality market is looking very on the upscale side. JW, Fairmont, Four Seasons, and whatever this ends up being (the tower design is way too nice to be a non-upscale brand) are all super nice with only the Marriott being relatively pedestrian.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Austin's convention center hospitality market is looking very on the upscale side. JW, Fairmont, Four Seasons, and whatever this ends up being (the tower design is way too nice to be a non-upscale brand) are all super nice with only the Marriott being relatively pedestrian.

You forgot the Hilton, unless you were referring to it rather than the Marriott as being relatively pedestrian. I don't think the Four Seasons can be considered a convention center hotel except for the fact that it is located quite nearby. Convention center hotels are usually very large (at least 600 rooms), have substantial meeting and exhibit space, and are either adjacent to or directly connected to the convention center. The JW barely meets that criteria due to the fact that it is a few blocks away, but obviously it was built with the convention center hotel concept uppermost in mind. Just read that Ritz Carlton is looking to expand product line in different ways, so a convention center property might be just the ticket for them.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by austlar1

You forgot the Hilton, unless you were referring to it rather than the Marriott as being relatively pedestrian. I don't think the Four Seasons can be considered a convention center hotel except for the fact that it is located quite nearby. Convention center hotels are usually very large (at least 600 rooms), have substantial meeting and exhibit space, and are either adjacent to or directly connected to the convention center. The JW barely meets that criteria due to the fact that it is a few blocks away, but obviously it was built with the convention center hotel concept uppermost in mind. Just read that Ritz Carlton is looking to expand product line in different ways, so a convention center property might be just the ticket for them.

I meant the Hilton, don't know why I said Marriott. I suppose you're right about Seasons as well, but the general point I made still stands.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

Anyone else notice the generic "Marriott" name on the building. I would imagine that there is a chance that this hotel could end up being branded any hotel under the Marriott International (which, I guess, now includes Starwood Hotels & Resorts).

The JW started out being a "Marriott," then a "Marriott Marquis," before finally being branded as a JW.

So this hotel could end up being a simple Marriott branded hotel or possibly anything from a Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, Edition, or Austin's second Autograph Collection hotel to possibly a Sheraton, another Westin, St. Regis, Le Meridien, or Austin's second W hotel. Guess we'll see...

There's a good chance that it stays a Marriott, IMO, for two reasons. 1) White Lodging likes this setup, and looks like it's replicating its Indianapolis package (1000+ room JW with 600+ rooms nearby at a standard Marriott) and 2) that setup allows a JW/Marriott combined sell with multiple price points. As someone upthread said, the Austin convention market is soon to be very top heavy with luxury product, and we badly need to come up with mid-range full service options (vs Hyatt Places or Hampton Inns or Courtyards -- basically your free breakfast options).

FWIW, the Four Seasons does offer smaller blocks for the biggest conventions, but usually keeps to itself. The Driskill does the same.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by We vs us

At this point the hospitality community + ACC + ACVB are all focused on 3b. No other options are currently being discussed to my knowledge.

Really? Then I'm out of the loop. I thought that they were talking about a building on those three blocks with two pedestrian bridges crossing the street to connect to the existing convention center...thus keeping that street. Did that change or was I simply mistaken before?

[The ATX]

My, how time flies. It's been three months since the last post. There was an update to the site plan filing two weeks ago. This is real close to getting approved.

https://www.austintexas.gov/devrevie...erRSN=11557319

[brando]

Originally Posted by The ATX

My, how time flies. It's been three months since the last post. There was an update to the site plan filing two weeks ago. This is real close to getting approved.

https://www.austintexas.gov/devrevie...erRSN=11557319

It would be nice if we knew the future of the possible convention center expansion.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by brando

It would be nice if we knew the future of the possible convention center expansion.

It should probably be on the ballot in 2017.

[The ATX]

A demo permit was filed today to clear the retail building on the site that is currently used by COTA.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/attachme...ZuY0fwiQ%3D%3D

[drummer]

Remind me - this is for the hotel, obviously, but this is not contingent on the convention center expansion happening, right?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by drummer

Remind me - this is for the hotel, obviously, but this is not contingent on the convention center expansion happening, right?

I don't think this is contingent on the expansion. But it's interesting to see this moving forward on some of the same real estate that the city could potentially take by eminent domain for the CC expansion.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by The ATX

I don't think this is contingent on the expansion. But it's interesting to see this moving forward on some of the same real estate that the city could potentially take by eminent domain for the CC expansion.

I heard that the hotel will happen with or without CC expansion, but there will be a big push in the next few months to get a combined project approved by city council and possibly with voters, depending on the details. I know somebody who is working with a PR firm that is involved in promoting this outcome.

[We vs us]

Thirded. Hotel is not contingent on CC expansion, though arguably White Lodging's strategy (saturating the downtown and CC submarkets) definitely is.

[The ATX]

There was some new permit activity this past week for this one, and the AC & Autograph. Marriott already has a website for this one with a July 2021 opening.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...iott-downtown/

Marriott also has some details about the hotel:

PROPERTY DETAILS
30 floors , 588 rooms , 25 suites
18 meeting rooms, 60,865 sq ft of total meeting space
1 concierge level

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by The ATX

There was some new permit activity this past week for this one, and the AC & Autograph. Marriott already has a website for this one with a July 2021 opening.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...iott-downtown/

Marriott also has some details about the hotel:

PROPERTY DETAILS
30 floors , 588 rooms , 25 suites
18 meeting rooms, 60,865 sq ft of total meeting space
1 concierge level

Thanks for finding this. A '21 opening date is a couple of years farther out than we'd heard. Originally it was slated to open in '19 and -- though that's admittedly aggressive for anything at this point -- pushing out two more years is pretty significant.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Thanks for finding this. A '21 opening date is a couple of years farther out than we'd heard. Originally it was slated to open in '19 and -- though that's admittedly aggressive for anything at this point -- pushing out two more years is pretty significant.

There could be some behind-the-scenes talk going on between the city & White Lodging regarding a possible expansion to the convention center. It would make sense for the two to open up at the same time (meaning they both are concurrently under construction over the same time period).

[AustinGoesVertical]

July 2021... wow, so this won't break ground until July 2019 at the earliest. Groundbreaking is about 30 months off as it stands. Wasn't the master plan for the convention center going to include a high-rise on one end, would this count as that or would there be a second tower on the other end built by a different developer in conjunction with the city?

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

There could be some behind-the-scenes talk going on between the city & White Lodging regarding a possible expansion to the convention center. It would make sense for the two to open up at the same time (meaning they both are concurrently under construction over the same time period).

That's definitely a possibility -- especially if the Marriott is more connected (physically) than we might have first known.

It's interesting, too, because the new Marriott has been part of the citywide room count for conventions happening in 2019 and 2020, as far as I know. It's not a large enough participant for the city to lose out on business, but if it's contracted . . . that's more than a minor guestroom shortfall. Also, I know they already have salespeople deployed, selling it as part of a JW/Marriott package.

Anyway . . . that date change is an interesting piece. Seems like a long time to forego revenue if you don't have to . . . .