Boutique Hotels Catching On In Albany

ALBANY, NY— Christopher Myers, president of Concord Development Co., is working to complete a $3.3 million renovation of Schenectadys eight-story Parker Building on State Street into a 23-room modern, upscale hotel by Aug. 1. Not far from the city, Joseph and Elena Mallozzi plan to open Mallozzis Belvedere Hotel, next to their restaurant, Mallozzis, on Curry Road in Rotterdam. They hope to fill the 31-room inn with business travelers and banquet guests who have booked the restaurant into 2003. And a New York City developer wants to turn Proctors Theatre in Troy into an upscale independent hotel, to take advantage of limited downtown lodging for visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professors, health care officials, and other business leaders. The proposals come as the number of independent non-chain hotels continues to decline nationwide and the lodging industry seeks to recover from the terrorist attacks. Still, by catering to particular groups, filling voids or capitalizing on their unique communities or historic structures, some smaller independents are growing. A decade ago, the Albany region had about 65 independent hotels, with 4,071 rooms, according to Smith Travel Research. By the end of 2001, there were only 59 independents, with a combined 3,451 rooms. National chains climbed from 42 in the region, with almost 6,000 rooms, to 61, with 7,200 rooms, in the same 10-year period. However, the tides may be turning. SOURCE: Times Union, Albany, NY