Hotel Derek Features ‘High-Style’

HOUSTON— Hotel Derek is different, or at least that’s the image it hopes to convey, especially to business travelers, its core clientele. “The hotel is a fresh, new alternative to traditional Houston hotels,” said Rick Reed, director/sales and marketing for the 314-room property located opposite the Galleria here. Following its acquisition in January 2001 by Amerimar Enterprises, the hotel, which had been a Red Lion, was closed for an $18 million reconstruction. “Virtually everything was redone, from the first floor, with the exception of the ballroom, on up to the guest-rooms which were completely redesigned,” Reed said. In October 2001, Amerimar, which also owns the Hotel George in Washington, D.C., the Sheraton Atlanta and an Embassy Suites in Denver, had a soft opening for Hotel Derek with a full opening taking place in January of this year. While declining to reveal occupancy numbers, Reed said Hotel Derek has been “very well received,” noting that “the reconstruction gave it a whole new feel, a comfortable ambience. It is high end, high style, high quality but not challenging or intimidating for the guest.” Guestrooms are a spacious 400 square feet, he said, and are done in black with some browns and tans mixed in, along with glass and chrome furnishings and white wall coverings. “The design is refreshing and dramatic with things like black pinstriped duvets, a large workdesk made of thick glass, and two thick-glass nightstands on either side of the bed,” he said. The end result, he added, “is not traditional, not predictable yet cozy and comfortable. And even though our guestrooms are suitable for work, they are the perfect environment for those who need to de-stress after a busy day.” Between 25% and 30% of Hotel Derek’s business comes from groups while the remaining 70% to 75% are individual travelers. Of those individuals, 55% to 60% are traveling on business and 10% to 15% are leisure, according to Reed. He added that the hotel has more than 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space. A significant amount of the hotel’s guests come from nearby businesses in Houston who refer clients and out-of-town staff, Reed noted. “New York and Chicago are main feeder markets for us,” he said. When discussing Hotel Derek’s competition, Reed said, “we are in a unique segment, upscale and high end, yet not luxury, and at the same time, not branded or predictable. We position ourselves underneath the Houstonian, Four Seasons and St. Regis but above the branded hotels like the Inter-Continental Houston, the Omni, the Westin and J.W. Marriott.” Hotel Derek recently rolled out new amenities and services to retain its business clientele and draw additional business, Reed noted. Along with its standard amenities like high-speed Internet access and choice of a daily newspaper, the hotel now offers complimentary overnight shoe shines, in-house clothes pressing, and a business center. Also new are in-room FedEx supplies, complimentary bottled water to fit in a briefcase and transportation to nearby destinations. Some services are offered around the clock to accommodate the often irregular schedules of business travelers, Reed added. For example, guests can access the fitness center and order room service 24 hours a day. Additionally, guests working late in offices near the hotel are offered courtesy transportation to and from the hotel in a stretch sport utility vehicle.