Phoenix to welcome 1st Westin in February

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. announced Monday the 2011 opening of its first Westin hotel in Phoenix.

The 242-room hotel is slated to open in February and will take up nine of 26 floors at the Freeport-McMoRan Center in downtown Phoenix. The remaining floors are occupied by the building's namesake.


The nine floors the Westin Phoenix Downtown will occupy have been vacant since the building opened in November at Central Avenue and Van Buren Street, said Debra Barton, general manager for the Westin.

Central Park East Associates LLC, a subsidiary of the current owners, did not return calls Monday about how much was spent to build the hotel rooms, a hotel entrance and a pool deck. However, a 2009 study conducted by the National Electrical Benefit Fund, the building's majority owner, indicated it planned to spend $30 million to $40 million.

The announcement comes at a time when Arizona's tourism industry is attempting to recover from the economic slump. Arizona has been hit especially hard by travel boycotts brought on by the passage of SB 1070, said Debbie Johnson, president and CEO of the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association.

According to data provided by Smith Travel Research, Arizona's revenue per available room, a key industry measure that takes into account room rates and occupancy, was down 4 percent in August from the year before. The rest of the U.S. fared much better, up 8.1 percent from a year earlier.

Despite that, Mark Vinciguerra, area managing director for Starwood Arizona, said he's confident the Westin will attract business and leisure travelers because of its proximity to the Phoenix Convention Center and downtown sports venues.

The Westin will be the second hotel Starwood opens in downtown Phoenix within the past three years. The company also manages the state's largest hotel, the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, which has 1,000 rooms and is owned by the city.

The Westin will have 9,000 square feet of meeting space, compared to the Sheraton's 80,000 square feet.

A study by the National Electrical Benefit Fund in 2009 estimates the Westin hotel will have a $32 million economic impact in the Valley.

The Westin has begun to hire managers for its staff of about 150 people, Barton said. Hiring for regular staffers will take place in January. Read more:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2010/10/04/20101004phoenix-westin-hotel-opening.html#ixzz11VlB2Fbv