ROANOKE, VA— The Hotel Roanoke was on the cutting edge of destination travel from the get-go, with “go” being the operative word in 1882 when it made its debut here in the town formerly known as Big Lick. While Big Lick might have been small potatoes compared to its contemporaries in New York or Washington, it was a critical crossroads for the Norfolk and Western Railroad, merged at the time from the East-West route Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad and the North-South route Shenandoah Valley Railroad. The man behind the railroad, Frederick Kimball, was also the man behind the hotel. He reasoned if people were riding his railroad, they would need a place to stay, so he placed the Hotel Roanoke as the centerpiece of the city, which he envisioned growing around his enterprises. Not only did the 36-room (albeit expanding) hotel draw the business travelers of the day, but railroad advertising and chamber of commerce brochures beckoned leisure travelers to enjoy the mild weather and vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. While the property has metamorphosed over the years— its current footprint dates from the 1930s— 120 years later, The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center remains on the cutting edge, still packing them in, thanks again, in part, to forward thinking and pacing for the future. Recently named to the National Trust Historic Hotels of America, an offshoot of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the 332-room landmark property was divested by railroad owners Norfolk Southern Corp. in 1989 and today is a joint venture by the City of Roanoke, Virginia Tech and Hotel Roanoke LLC. The property is operated by Doubletree Hotels, which is also a lending partner with $1.5 million invested in the venture. Gary Walton, general manager/area vp, said the railroad actually donated the property to the Virginia Tech Real Estate Foundation, which was given five years to “come up with funds to renovate it and open it up grander than it was, or give it back.” As Virginia Tech began renovating, the City of Roanoke got involved because it wanted to have a convention center in town. “Because of the educational component, the thought process was one of the bigger customers [for the hotel]was going to be the University, and shifted from a convention center to be more of a conference center,” said Walton. The city later financed the $13 million center, which is attached to the hotel, as an economic development project to stimulate business in the area. The hotel itself was revamped via $28 million in public/private financing, including some $7 million in donated funds from a group of local businesses and individuals who wanted to see the hotel’s renaissance as part of a “Renew Roanoke” endeavor. Also stimulating business is COTA, The Center for Organization and Technological Advancement. Supported by state and private funds, the state-organized initiative enlists the aid of Virginia Tech faculty to create programs that will attract business to the center, where COTA also is housed. COTA also grants awards to sponsor seminar, training, symposia, courses and conferences at the 63,000-square-foot facility, which is connected to the hotel “in a noninvasive way,” said Walton. The marriage of the Tudoresque property with the 21st century conference facility has helped stimulate the economies of both the hotel and community. “One of the things when this all came together was that the hotel had a great reputation and was on a rotational pattern for some business, such as the association market and some state business. The city is only about 140,000 people, so to have a facility of this sophistication and dollar[-value] is really a significant thing to move forward with. What we ended up doing was creating a meeting destination…and we bring a university component from a group standpoint that was nonexistent in the Roanoke Valley,” said Gary Crizer, director of sales. State association and SMERF markets also have increased,
