Omaha Hotel Boom

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skinzfan23
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Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by skinzfan23 »

Omaha area in the middle of hotel boom — and several newer places aren't near downtown
Berkshire’s extravaganza, along with national sports tournaments and robust business travel that dot other times of the year, continues to bolster the Omaha-area hospitality industry overall — leading investors to add about 750 new or totally renovated hotel rooms to the market since just last May.
That’s an inventory gain greater than any of the past five years, according to the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau, which bases its figures on reports from national data tracker STR Inc.
And several hundred more hotel rooms are in the pipeline.
When the Berkshire throng converges, the three-county area is expected to have about 14,700 hotel rooms in Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie Counties — more than a 5 percent increase over the prior May.

Demand has increased as well. Guests slept 2.98 million nights in Omaha last year, compared with 2.91 million in 2013, 2.86 million in 2012, 2.76 million in 2011 and 2.64 million in 2010.
Rates, too, generally are on the upswing. The average Omaha room rented last year for $93.47, compared with $89.78 the year before.
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iamjacobm
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by iamjacobm »

Yeah that big of a bump in a single year is kind of amazing. A 5% bump in one year and even more on the way with 24th and Farnam, UNMC(x2?), Shamrock(?) and what seems like a bunch of suburban hotels still u/c. Could see 16,000 in the next couple years.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by iamjacobm »

I am also curious as to when some of the new "hip" brands will enter the market. Aloft was floated at Crossroads I know, but it seems like the plans there have been really fluid.

Aloft Hotels are a Starwood brand. We already have their Elemnt brand which is actually more unique.
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AC Hotel is the Marriott equivalent. Starting to pop up in lots of cities with recent announcements in KC, Des Moines and OKC in the region.
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Canopy by Hilton is the most recent brand that has announced projects in a dozen or so cities.
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daveoma
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by daveoma »

I stayed at an Aloft once in North Carolina and it was awesome! Something like that would do VERY well near Aksarben, midtown, or downtown.
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skinzfan23
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by skinzfan23 »

Thought I would add my post from last April about downtown here:
Just did a quick check. Here are the rooms located in downtown, not including Council Bluffs, the airport, or anything on the fringe of downtown.

Double Tree: 414
Hilton Omaha: 600
Magnolia: 145
Econolodge: 46
Hotel Deco: 89
Residence Inn: 152
Hyatt Place: 159
Holiday Inn: 109
Fairfield Inn: 113
Homewood Suites: 123
Hilton Garden Inn: 178
Courtyard by Marriott: 181
Embassy Suites: 249
Hampton Inn: 139

Total: 2,697

I could be missing some, but I think I got most of them. The total metro number is around 14,700 as of May 2015.

Not to mention, with the addition of the Marriott (333 rooms), The Yard Hotel (125 rooms) and the 24th and Farnam Hotel (132 rooms), downtown should be adding another 590 rooms in the next 2-3 years. That is an over 20% increase from the current total.
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skinzfan23
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by skinzfan23 »

Plenty of rooms available for Berkshire Hathaway meeting visitors in Omaha
Berkshire Hathaway declined to comment on attendance this year. The Q & A portion of the annual meeting, when Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger take questions from the CenturyLink audience, will be streamed live on Yahoo, the company announced early this year.
Less demand means rates are down this year, too, Kuhlman said. A room with two queen beds at his DoubleTree will run a shareholder $249 a night. Rooms last year were being booked for upward of $350 per night, with even Super 8 Motels charging $200 a night. This year, the going Super 8 rate is about $150.

The Omaha area has more than 14,000 rooms, 424 added in the past year.
If more than 400 rooms have been added in the past year, I would think that number of rooms is the metro is now greater than 15,100.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Omaha Cowboy »

I agree. I think the room number for the Omaha metro was a bit off in the W-H piece...

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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by RockHarbor »

Hearing all this defined as a current "hotel boom" is not surprising. You can't help but notice this hotel, that hotel going up (including the new Marriott -- of course).

It has to be tricky balancing all this stuff, I would think, as a town swells up with visitors only so many times a year. Of course, on & off seasonal traffic is normal, but does Omaha even have that factor (as we aren't a city by some beach or mountains)? Our town's swelling of visitors has to do with these conferences more, I would think. And, of course, the summer in general has more travelers coming & going in any city in the northern half of the USA, as Omaha gets summer tourism with the zoo, Old Market, ect. Anyways, neat to see...
I can get pushed out because I'm "too much" for some. Then, an observer of me comes suddenly swooping in to "fill my shoes." People are always more accepting of the new one, because their feathers aren't truly ruffled by them. (Yawn) I can count on it every time.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by daveoma »

Omaha Cowboy wrote:I agree. I think the room number for the Omaha metro was a bit off in the W-H piece...

Ciao..LiO...Peace
Agreed, and I'm interested in knowing why the prices are lower. Are there fewer shareholders coming to the meeting?
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by RNcyanide »

daveoma wrote:
Omaha Cowboy wrote:I agree. I think the room number for the Omaha metro was a bit off in the W-H piece...

Ciao..LiO...Peace
Agreed, and I'm interested in knowing why the prices are lower. Are there fewer shareholders coming to the meeting?
I could be wrong but I think it was because hoteliers were price gouging last year and Buffet threatened to take the shareholders meeting out of town.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Omaha Cowboy »

daveoma wrote:
Omaha Cowboy wrote:I agree. I think the room number for the Omaha metro was a bit off in the W-H piece...

Ciao..LiO...Peace
Agreed, and I'm interested in knowing why the prices are lower. Are there fewer shareholders coming to the meeting?
The W-H piece over the weekend stated that Berkshire will be streaming Buffet's Q&A for the first time.. And that's contributing to the potential lower number of shareholders coming to the meeting this year...

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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Garrett »

Plus last year was also the 50th meeting, so this year is just naturally going to be smaller.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by skinzfan23 »

According to the story from the World Herald about Shamrock's progress:
In all, about 14,600 hotel rooms currently are available across the metro area’s Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie Counties. To be added yet this year, says the visitors bureau, are hotel properties that include the Even Hotel at 22nd and Farnam Streets; Staybridge Suites and Fairfield Inn & Suites in west Omaha; and the Comfort Suites in La Vista.

the Marriott Capitol District Hotel is among eight hotel projects on track to add a total of 1,000 or so guest rooms to the Omaha metro area by the end of next year, according to the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau
With these numbers in mind, the total for the metro by next year should be around 15,600.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by nativeomahan »

Returning from Eppley this week I noted that the new Holiday Inn Express is nearing completion on Abbott Drive. Also, something seems to be starting construction just to the north of that hotel. Any idea what it could be?
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by skinzfan23 »

Omaha area’s lodging industry is booming, with developers happy to keep the rooms coming
Among other hotel plans: a 90-room upscale Curio boutique hotel, a Hilton brand, at 18th and Douglas Streets; a 550-room hotel near the Nebraska Medical Center; and a 300-room hotel on west Omaha property formerly owned by Boys Town.

Already open this year are the Staybridge Suites, 99 rooms at 171st Street and West Center Road; Candlewood Suites, 80 rooms at 130th and I Streets; a Fairfield Inn, 90 rooms at 172nd Street and West Center; and the Even Hotel, 132 rooms at 24th and Farnam Streets, with two more planned nearby.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Athomsfere »

skinzfan23 wrote:
Guests slept 2.98 million nights in Omaha last year...
I have a few questions on this metric if anyone knows how this works:

Is this Metro or Omaha proper?

Is this guests or rooms? Or some other formula? (A family of 5 for example in two rooms, does this count as 5 nights or 2 per night?

Any numbers on what a metro / city of about Omaha should sleep? I mean 3 times the metro population in visitors sounds like an outstanding number for tourism in a city this size to my untrained reading.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Omababe »

Athomsfere wrote:Is this Metro or Omaha proper?
It appears to me to be the three-county area.
Is this guests or rooms?
Looks like occupied rooms to me.
Any numbers on what a metro / city of about Omaha should sleep?
No clue, but it would be interesting (to me, anyway) to see these numbers, both occupancy and price, broken out between weekdays (as in conventions and business) and weekends (as in special events and tourism).

As an aside, it appears to me that hotel rates in Chicago, which usually range somewhere between outrageous and obscene, have been tempering a bit, and more so in NYC (Manhattan) where in the last few months some nice properties have been relatively reasonable.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Dundeemaha »

Taking the OWH numbers above:

14,418 x 0.597 x 365 = 3.14 million.

So I'm thinking that number is per room, and the reason the above is higher is some of the rooms were constructed mid year.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Greg S »

I knew there had been talk of a hotel for the Med Center area (including the one that did not go forward near Saddle Creek) but I did not realize it was going to be 550 rooms.

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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Omaha_Gabe »

Athomsfere wrote:
skinzfan23 wrote:
Guests slept 2.98 million nights in Omaha last year...
I have a few questions on this metric if anyone knows how this works:

Is this Metro or Omaha proper?

Is this guests or rooms? Or some other formula? (A family of 5 for example in two rooms, does this count as 5 nights or 2 per night?

Any numbers on what a metro / city of about Omaha should sleep? I mean 3 times the metro population in visitors sounds like an outstanding number for tourism in a city this size to my untrained reading.

Hotels subscribe to a company called STR; Every night they feed the total rooms occupied (not guests) and the average room rate for the night. This is allows them to see how they rank against their competitors (without knowing who they are) There are times where a room is sold twice in one day for airline crews for example. They are in and out at night and property and you can sell the room twice! I am not sure every single hotel is taken account into this figures. Only the hotels that subscribe to STR.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by NovakOmaha »

I wonder if they took into account the closure of some hotels, such as the Carol & the Westmont. Between the two that is over 300 rooms and a hit to that part of town.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by nativeomahan »

Greg S wrote:I knew there had been talk of a hotel for the Med Center area (including the one that did not go forward near Saddle Creek) but I did not realize it was going to be 550 rooms.

Greg
I'm guessing that either the World-Herald is sitting in a monumental scoop that even this forum is unaware of, or they have no idea what they are talking about. My guess is the latter.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Athomsfere »

Omaha_Gabe wrote:
Athomsfere wrote:
skinzfan23 wrote:
Guests slept 2.98 million nights in Omaha last year...
I have a few questions on this metric if anyone knows how this works:

Is this Metro or Omaha proper?

Is this guests or rooms? Or some other formula? (A family of 5 for example in two rooms, does this count as 5 nights or 2 per night?

Any numbers on what a metro / city of about Omaha should sleep? I mean 3 times the metro population in visitors sounds like an outstanding number for tourism in a city this size to my untrained reading.

Hotels subscribe to a company called STR; Every night they feed the total rooms occupied (not guests) and the average room rate for the night. This is allows them to see how they rank against their competitors (without knowing who they are) There are times where a room is sold twice in one day for airline crews for example. They are in and out at night and property and you can sell the room twice! I am not sure every single hotel is taken account into this figures. Only the hotels that subscribe to STR.
Good to know!

Anyway to get access to any level to the database as a nerd/ press?
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by MTO »

With the zoo's attendance increasing, the Omaha Multisport Complex and the Buffett Cancer Center coming online soon I can't wait to see these figures in a couple years.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by skinzfan23 »

MTO wrote:With the zoo's attendance increasing, the Omaha Multisport Complex and the Buffett Cancer Center coming online soon I can't wait to see these figures in a couple years.
I agree....granted a majority of the zoo's attendance is probably within a day's drive or from the metro. Also the Fieldhouse is CB should help to attract more out-of-town visitors.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by MadJack »

nativeomahan wrote:
Greg S wrote:I knew there had been talk of a hotel for the Med Center area (including the one that did not go forward near Saddle Creek) but I did not realize it was going to be 550 rooms.

Greg
I'm guessing that either the World-Herald is sitting in a monumental scoop that even this forum is unaware of, or they have no idea what they are talking about. My guess is the latter.
A major, full-service Marriott is planned for the Med Center area but I had no idea it would be 550 rooms. That number shocked me and I wonder if it's correct.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by nativeomahan »

Knowing some people connected to the Marriott corporation, I do not believe for one minute that a third full service Marriott property will be built in Omaha in the next ten years.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Garrett »

nativeomahan wrote:Knowing some people connected to the Marriott corporation, I do not believe for one minute that a third full service Marriott property will be built in Omaha in the next ten years.
Well, with the Med Center becoming increasingly important, I could see this as a can't miss opportunity. Anywhere else in the city? No. Here? Maybe.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

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Full service Marriotts are convention-focused hotels. Big ballrooms, and loads of meeting space. Why would that sort of hotel want to hitch itself to a medical center? Convention goers don't exactly want to look out onto ERs and dozens of rescue squads with sirens blaring at all hours. They prefer to locate in entertainment districts. The Med Center is an entertainment wasteland.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Greg S »

Is there just a hotel boom nationally? It seems like every where I travel there is a lot of hotel construction going on.

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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by daveoma »

What about medical tourism and conventions of the health care industry?
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by MTO »

daveoma wrote:What about medical tourism and conventions of the health care industry?
That's what I was thinking and maybe they still have big plans for the future.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by nebraska »

nativeomahan wrote:Full service Marriotts are convention-focused hotels. Big ballrooms, and loads of meeting space. Why would that sort of hotel want to hitch itself to a medical center? Convention goers don't exactly want to look out onto ERs and dozens of rescue squads with sirens blaring at all hours. They prefer to locate in entertainment districts. The Med Center is an entertainment wasteland.
Put the ballroom in the right spot and you won't have the sirens. For example, I never see ambulances along Emile blasting their sirens, only quietly leaving. As far as conferences, the recent Opioid Conference is an example of what NebMed should be doing more of. Hotel or no hotel, I could see them easily booking 100 conferences a year.

When I worked at a law school, they easily had hundreds of conferences about all kinds of law topics. If they build it, they will come.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by RockHarbor »

I'm still waiting for that hotel at Dodge & Saddle Creek to get off the ground. What is the hold up?
I can get pushed out because I'm "too much" for some. Then, an observer of me comes suddenly swooping in to "fill my shoes." People are always more accepting of the new one, because their feathers aren't truly ruffled by them. (Yawn) I can count on it every time.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

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RockHarbor wrote:I'm still waiting for that hotel at Dodge & Saddle Creek to get off the ground. What is the hold up?
I believe that project as we knew it was cancelled.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Dundeemaha »

Linkin5 wrote:
RockHarbor wrote:I'm still waiting for that hotel at Dodge & Saddle Creek to get off the ground. What is the hold up?
I believe that project as we knew it was cancelled.
I think you're referring to the UNMC one at Farnam and 42nd where Farnam still splits over to Harney.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

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Linkin: Canceled? What...is a large dirt lot going to just exist there now?

Dundee Omaha: I'm talking about the hotel that was surprisingly going to fit on the lot (that was cleared) on Dodge & Saddle Creek, on the south side of Dodge (by King Kong burgers). There's another empty lot that was cleared on Dodge (on the north side) around 35th-ish that has no movement forward as well.
I can get pushed out because I'm "too much" for some. Then, an observer of me comes suddenly swooping in to "fill my shoes." People are always more accepting of the new one, because their feathers aren't truly ruffled by them. (Yawn) I can count on it every time.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by choke »

RockHarbor wrote:Linkin: Canceled? What...is a large dirt lot going to just exist there now?

Dundee Omaha: I'm talking about the hotel that was surprisingly going to fit on the lot (that was cleared) on Dodge & Saddle Creek, on the south side of Dodge (by King Kong burgers). There's another empty lot that was cleared on Dodge (on the north side) around 35th-ish that has no movement forward as well.
The hotel next to King Kong is still moving forward. It's the hotel where Farnam turns into Harney that is being relocated, not canceled. UNMC decided it was not feasible to put a hotel in that location but they need it and just have to decide where it's going to go.
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by NovakOmaha »

nativeomahan wrote:Full service Marriotts are convention-focused hotels. Big ballrooms, and loads of meeting space. Why would that sort of hotel want to hitch itself to a medical center? Convention goers don't exactly want to look out onto ERs and dozens of rescue squads with sirens blaring at all hours. They prefer to locate in entertainment districts. The Med Center is an entertainment wasteland.
I'm not going to list every single one but the above statement is an example of fitting the conclusion to the assumption.


http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-ph ... al-center/

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/local-th ... er-center/

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/c ... trict-uic/
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Re: Omaha Hotel Boom

Post by Linkin5 »

RockHarbor wrote:Linkin: Canceled? What...is a large dirt lot going to just exist there now?

Dundee Omaha: I'm talking about the hotel that was surprisingly going to fit on the lot (that was cleared) on Dodge & Saddle Creek, on the south side of Dodge (by King Kong burgers). There's another empty lot that was cleared on Dodge (on the north side) around 35th-ish that has no movement forward as well.
Sorry, as others have corrected I got the hotels mixed up, this is still a go.
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