CA Hotels Vie For UPS Contract

RIVERSIDE, CA— Hotels in the area here are vying for business from the United Parcel Service (UPS), according to a report in The Press-Enterprise. The cargo carrier is shopping a contract valued at about $950,000. The winning hotel would provide nearly 19,000 room nights over two years to the companys employees. Three years ago, the Holiday Inn Select in Riverside won a three-year contract to provide discounted hotel rooms to UPS crew members flying through the companys West Coast Air Hub at Ontario International Airport. Before that, crew members had been staying at the 309-room Hilton Ontario Airport. But the current contract is almost up. UPS is looking for a hotel that can offer rooms at about $50 each and is close to restaurants and things to do, said Dean C. Clark, grievance committee member of the Independent Pilots Association, which represents UPS pilots. Proximity to the airport is not an issue, however. The 20- to 25-minute drive to the Holiday Inn Select in Riverside was never an issue, said UPS Chief Pilot Ron Woodard. Woodard said UPS has been extremely happy with the Riverside hotel, saying that it performed as well as any of the 70 hotels worldwide where UPS crews stay. The company is simply looking to cut costs by shopping the contract around, he said. The 339-room Doubletree Hotel in Ontario is among the front-runners for winning the contract, according to members of Ontarios hospitality industry. The Hilton Ontario Airport and the Sheraton Ontario Airport Hotel are also vying for the contract, Tucker said. In addition, the Ontario Airport Marriott is adding 142 rooms and could use a base of business, said hotel manager Steve Goldman. Airline crew business isnt always sought after because it can displace higher-profit business with lower-profit traffic, said Goldman. For that reason, some hotels, like the Mission Inn, are moving away from airline crew business. SOURCE: The Press-Enterprise