A San Francisco
hotel group has bought the Charlotte Hilton Center City
Hotel from Hilton Hotels Corp. for $56 million, according to
a published report.
Stanford Hotels Corp. has
offered the Hilton Charlotte's 220 employees their jobs and
will keep the Hilton brand, said Clyde Guinn, Stanford's
senior vice president. The Hilton Charlotte, at 222 E. Third
St., will be Stanford's 18th purchase, joining hotels from
Washington to Waikiki, Hawaii. The company operates hotels
under other brands, including Marriott, Radisson and
Sheraton.
Stanford is investing in
Charlotte because the company likes its uptown's dynamic
growth, Guinn said. Over the next two and a half years, the
company could spend as much as $10 million renovating the
hotel.
In the next 10 months,
Stanford plans to spend about $4 million to $5 million
renovating the Hilton's 406 rooms so it can compete with
three other downtown hotels it considers rivals: the Westin,
the Marriott and the Omni. Stanford hopes to add modern
touches such as plasma TVs and iPod connections to hotel
rooms, while keeping the 14-year-old hotel's traditional
look, Guinn said.
Stanford, which expects about
$170 million in revenue this year, will spend an additional
$5 million renovating the hotel's restaurant, the Union
Grille, and replacing aging hotel components, from washer
and dryers to escalators.
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Stanford Hotels Corp. specializes in the development, ownership and
management of full-service hotels franchising with the
best in the world. From its corporate offices in San
Francisco, Stanford Hotels owns and manages 17 properties
across six time zones throughout the U.S., franchising
with six top global brands including Marriott, Sheraton,
Hilton, Holiday Inn, Radisson, and Doubletree.
