HB ON THE SCENE: Westin Pre-Opening Ceremonies Brighten New York’s Lodging Picture

NEW YORK— Neither rain nor wind nor gloom of day could keep the couriers of Tishman Realty & Construction, Westin Hotels & Resorts, and a host of high-ranking New York City public-sector officials from feting the imminent unveiling of the new Westin New York at Times Square here Oct. 16. Those braving the elements to be on hand to herald the Friday, Oct. 18 opening of the 45-story property’s first 366 rooms (of an ultimate total of 863) to the public included: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Charles Gargano, Tishman Realty & Construction Co. Chairman John Tishman; Tishman Construction Corp. Chairman Dan Tishman; Westin Hotels’ SVP Sue Brush; and NYC & Co. President/CEO Cristyne Nicholas. Alluding to the revitalized pulse of the neighborhood as well as the ambiance of nearby Broadway, Dan Tishman noted the $300-million project qualifies as “a building that truly performs… both as a hotel as well as [great]theater.” On a somewhat more business-pertinent note, he told HOTEL BUSINESS® the midtown Manhattan undertaking can continue to lay claim to coming in “under budget and ahead of schedule.” Next up was Mayor Bloomberg, who painted the new Westin as a key component of “the renaissance of the Times Square area.” As he pointed out, the hotel represents “the western edge of the largest urban redevelopment project in New York City’s history [and, as such, its construction was hailed as] “the largest ground-up hotel built in this city in 17 years.” Focusing on the economics of the undertaking, Gargano maintained that— over the course of the next several years— the Westin New York at Times Square is expected to contribute to the city’s coffers “some $295 million in occupancy and sales tax revenues, plus another $50 million in ground rent.” Meanwhile, Brush explained the opening of the new hotel seemed to be a fitting complement to Westin’s celebration of 72 years in the (hotel-management) business. Accordingly, she reveled in repeating an observation first offered up two years ago by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, contending the development of the new Westin would succeed in helping “transform what had been the city’s ‘red-light’ district into the ‘red-hot’ district.” Underscoring that outlook, Nicholas claimed the opening of the hotel would inexorably stand out as “ a vote of confidence in tourism as well as the future of New York City.” Taking the stage to share words of appreciation for his firm’s long-standing relationships with Westin and its parent company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, John Tishman delivered his own upbeat prognostication of the hotel when he offered it is fated to become “a New York City landmark.” Finally, in an aside to all those thinking of sharing in the hotel’s opening by making reservations to stay there on opening night, General Manager John Sweeney— formerly general manager at the Millenium Hilton— reported: “More than 100 rooms are already sold for Friday night.” He added that, with reference to projected occupancy levels, he and the rest of the Tishman/Westin team “expect the hotel to ramp up pretty quickly.”