Westborough Hotel Undergoes Renovation
With occupancy rates finally recovering, the Westborough Courtyard by Marriott has begun a major renovation that is set to be completed by early next year.
Area general manager Mary Simone, who oversees both the Westborough and Marlborough Courtyard by Marriott hotels, said it has been a "rough few years" for the hotel industry, but trends are turning around.
"Corporate spending and leisure travel are up, which means occupancy is up too," she said.
Construction at the Westborough hotel is already underway. Plans call for completely refurbishing each of the 98 rooms at the hotel, along with redesigning the lobby, outdoor areas and repaving the parking lot.
It is part of a plan by Marriott to systematically renovate each of the chain's more than 850 hotels across the country, Simone said.
New Requirements
"The travel has changed," she said. "Everyone is so much more productive than they've ever been on the road, so they need the amenities to be able to do that work and the comfortable surroundings to support it."
For example, she said the hotel chain used to place a newspaper outside the door of each guest's room every morning.
"We noticed we were throwing away more newspapers than people were taking," she said.
Instead, the renovated hotel will have wireless Internet in the rooms and in the lobby.
Other amenities added to the hotel after the renovation will include a new "go-board" in the hotel lobby, which is an interactive touch screen that allows visitors to check weather, maps, news and get recommendations on activities in the area.
The lobby will feature "media pods," or booths with individual televisions for patrons to watch. Plus, the hotel will have a new cafe.
"It's going to be where meeting space meets eating space," she said. "(It's) the type of place when you get out of your room you're going to want to come hang out in this lobby."
The hotel's meeting room will also be refurbished with new carpeting.
Construction is being done in phases so that the hotel can remain open throughout the process. It's expected to be completed by early next year.
While the travel industry has been battered by the recession, there are signs of an uptick. Marriott reported a $119 million profit during the second quarter, more than triple the profit the hotel giant reported during the same period in 2009.
Smith Travel Research, which tracks the hotel industry, said that occupancy rates nationwide for hotels during the last week of September increased about 7.5 percent to 64.2 percent. Daily rates for hotel rooms also increased. That follows gains in mid-September when occupancy rates rose 6.7 percent.
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