Recent visit to Atlanta

[noah]

New ones have opened -- The Lowes in Midtown, the new tower on west peachtree rebranded now to a renassaince I believe and one of the cranes in midtown is for a new dual branded hotel currently being built.

Atlanta Midtown Hotel: Renaissance Hotel in Midtown Atlanta Features Atlanta, GA Luxury Hotel Amenities

http://www.loewshotels.com/Atlanta-Hotel

Dual-Branded Hotel Groundbreaking in Atlanta

Originally Posted by johnatl

Just exactly which major hotels have closed since the recession? Please name them.

[pit2atl]

Wow! This thread has developed more than I would have imagined. I love all the diverse responses its really gives an insight of different peoples points of views.

Originally Posted by Onthemove2014

If you think I implied that all the people moving here were in IT then you missed the point. My point is certain industries like Medical and IT are doing just fine. I heard finance was also doing well. Basically, anything that requires a skill or degree that isn't based in the construction industry is doing average to great here.

In (Onthemove2012) defense I understand what he was trying to explain, basically any career that requires someone with a degree they are doing well living in Atlanta (general statement of course, there is always that extreme situation). I feel that way about any city especially for someone just starting in their career. I’m not looking to become general manager “yet” lol, honestly I just want a city I can get some valuable experience, where the cost of living is not astronomical like a “Washington DC” where I’ll be making maybe 10K more but 50% increase in cost of living.

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

I agree. But the OP doesn't have an IT background, its hospitality. Since the recession a couple of the bigger hotels have closed in Atlanta so I don't know how in demand hospitality workers are.

Originally Posted by johnatl

Just exactly which major hotels have closed since the recession? Please name them.

Can you tell me what "major" hotels in the area have closed?

[johnatl]

Originally Posted by rashan5

Can you tell me what "major" hotels in the area have closed?

Absolutely none have. Some have changed ownership/flags, but NO major hotels have closed here. Not one. This is one of the elite top 5 convention cities in the U.S. The hospitality industry is HUGE here, as you probably already imagined.

I say go for it. Your particular career choice is an excellent match for Metro Atlanta.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by johnatl

Just exactly which major hotels have closed since the recession? Please name them.

The Marriott Renaissance, The W Perimeter and I believe the Wyndham. The reason I know this is because I applied for work at the two former in 2010. And very shortly after applying I saw on the news that they were closing.

Here are articles to back it up. Apparently I'm the only one who follows business news:

Three Metro Atlanta Hotels to Close - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Three Atlanta Hotels to Close - USA Today

Renaissance Hotel Closing - What Now Atlanta

To quote the USA Today article directly:

"The closures come at a time when Atlanta hotels are struggling to fill beds and keep rates from sinking. Travelers today, in fact, are able to snap up luxury hotel rooms in some top-tier hotels such as the InterContinental, Grand Hyatt and W hotels for less than $100 a night...

...
Marriott's moving 75% of the laid-off staffers to other Marriott hotels, Marriott spokesman Jeff Flaherty tells the paper. It's working with the building's management to find jobs for the other employees. According to this TripAdvisor review, it appears that some employees have already moved on to other jobs.

The environment is so bad in Atlanta that we could see more cases where a hotel owner decides that their property has outlived its life as a hotel.
"More and more property owners are asking themselves the question, 'Is operating this facility as a hotel really what produces the maximum economic return?'" Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, tells the paper.

Readers: Are you surprised that these hotels are closing? Have you seen other hotels close elsewhere during the recession?"


Would you like me to cite anymore sources?

[shivtim]

^Mariott Rennaissance didn't close, it was bought by a high-end Spanish hotel brand, and is now the Hotel Melia. It says it right there in the What Now Atlanta link above, if you'd bother to read what you posted. Here's another link:
Spanish chain Sol Melia opens first US hotel in former Marriott Renaissance - USATODAY.com

The W downtown opened in 2009, the ultra-luxury St.Regis in Buckhead opened in 2009, plus the three new hotels Noah listed at the top of this page, not to mention the 15 story Ellis Hotel that opened downtown in 2007. These are just from off the top of my head.

Even with the Wyndam being converted to GA State dorms, there's still been a huge net gain of hotel rooms over the last several years in the city of Atlanta, with more rooms coming!

[GaBison2007]

Originally Posted by shivtim

^Mariott Rennaissance didn't close, it was bought by a high-end Spanish hotel brand, and is now the Hotel Melia. It says it right there in the What Now Atlanta link above, if you'd bother to read what you posted. Here's another link:
Spanish chain Sol Melia opens first US hotel in former Marriott Renaissance - USATODAY.com

The W downtown opened in 2009, the ultra-luxury St.Regis in Buckhead opened in 2009, plus the three new hotels Noah listed at the top of this page, not to mention the 15 story Ellis Hotel that opened downtown in 2007. These are just from off the top of my head.

Even with the Wyndam being converted to GA State dorms, there's still been a huge net gain of hotel rooms over the last several years in the city of Atlanta, with more rooms coming!

Agreed!

I also didn't want to say much since I actually originated in the hotel industry in the DC area(I switched industries before I moved to ATL though and now in Sales/Marketing which is really thriving in this area *shocker, I'm not in IT)....but

The W Perimeter did NOT close permanently........it was rebranded....... W Hotel Perimeter goes ‘Independent’ | Atlanta Restaurant and Retail Openings & Closings | What Now Atlanta


also, citing articles from 2 years ago is light years in the hospitality industry...If you wanna talk about a REAL hospitality recession. Go back in time to 2007-2009 in the DC area when over a third of your clients backs out of deals because the glut of your revenue comes from the government/banking industry and they're panicking about the economy......right along with the other event planners you're working with who are also cutting back funding.....I found it horrible during that time loosing bids from over 20% of my clients who would choose to hold events in places like Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta during that time because of the lower costs and fees compared to the DMV or other Northeastern cities.....at least the DMV area wasn't hit as hard as NYC back then though :/

[pit2atl]

Originally Posted by shivtim

^Mariott Rennaissance didn't close, it was bought by a high-end Spanish hotel brand, and is now the Hotel Melia. It says it right there in the What Now Atlanta link above, if you'd bother to read what you posted. Here's another link:
Spanish chain Sol Melia opens first US hotel in former Marriott Renaissance - USATODAY.com

The W downtown opened in 2009, the ultra-luxury St.Regis in Buckhead opened in 2009, plus the three new hotels Noah listed at the top of this page, not to mention the 15 story Ellis Hotel that opened downtown in 2007. These are just from off the top of my head.

Even with the Wyndam being converted to GA State dorms, there's still been a huge net gain of hotel rooms over the last several years in the city of Atlanta, with more rooms coming!

The Ellis hotel is managed by the same company "prospera hospitality" that managed the Double Tree here in Pittsburgh where i completed my praticum. Im going to look into that property first!

[pit2atl]

Originally Posted by GaBison2007

Agreed!

I also didn't want to say much since I actually originated in the hotel industry in the DC area(I switched industries before I moved to ATL though and now in Sales/Marketing which is really thriving in this area *shocker, I'm not in IT)....but

The W Perimeter did NOT close permanently........it was rebranded....... W Hotel Perimeter goes ‘Independent’ | Atlanta Restaurant and Retail Openings & Closings | What Now Atlanta


also, citing articles from 2 years ago is light years in the hospitality industry...If you wanna talk about a REAL hospitality recession. Go back in time to 2007-2009 in the DC area when over a third of your clients backs out of deals because the glut of your revenue comes from the government/banking industry and they're panicking about the economy......right along with the other event planners you're working with who are also cutting back funding.....I found it horrible during that time loosing bids from over 20% of my clients who would choose to hold events in places like Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta during that time because of the lower costs and fees compared to the DMV or other Northeastern cities.....at least the DMV area wasn't hit as hard as NYC back then though :/

I think we spoke about the hospitality field in the Washington DC forum about a year ago. lol

[pit2atl]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

The Marriott Renaissance, The W Perimeter and I believe the Wyndham. The reason I know this is because I applied for work at the two former in 2010. And very shortly after applying I saw on the news that they were closing.

Here are articles to back it up. Apparently I'm the only one who follows business news:

Three Metro Atlanta Hotels to Close - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Three Atlanta Hotels to Close - USA Today

Renaissance Hotel Closing - What Now Atlanta

To quote the USA Today article directly:

"The closures come at a time when Atlanta hotels are struggling to fill beds and keep rates from sinking. Travelers today, in fact, are able to snap up luxury hotel rooms in some top-tier hotels such as the InterContinental, Grand Hyatt and W hotels for less than $100 a night...

...
Marriott's moving 75% of the laid-off staffers to other Marriott hotels, Marriott spokesman Jeff Flaherty tells the paper. It's working with the building's management to find jobs for the other employees. According to this TripAdvisor review, it appears that some employees have already moved on to other jobs.

The environment is so bad in Atlanta that we could see more cases where a hotel owner decides that their property has outlived its life as a hotel.
"More and more property owners are asking themselves the question, 'Is operating this facility as a hotel really what produces the maximum economic return?'" Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, tells the paper.

Readers: Are you surprised that these hotels are closing? Have you seen other hotels close elsewhere during the recession?"


Would you like me to cite anymore sources?

I agree and I've noticed that a lot of the top brand hotel chains such as the Ritz Carlton for example start at $189/night which is extremely low. The top tier hotels in Pgh such as "Fairmont & Omni" start in the low $200's and Pittsburgh is no where the size of Atlanta. Maybe its because there a lot more competition. On the other hand i feel that the Airport hotels are really benefiting since Jackson Hartsfield is the biggest hub in USA im sure there are thousands of layover daily; those hotels are probably turning rooms over daily.

[pit2atl]

Moving to Atlanta next month!!!!