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Everything has come together into what Strebel called a “ new normal ,” one that all companies need to adapt to , as Omni has tried . Consider Omni ' s New York hotel , Omni Berkshire Place , between Madison and Fifth Avenue , close to Cartier and Rockefeller Center and right next to BlackRock , the largest asset manager in the world . “ It ' s an ideal location ,” Strebel said , but during the pandemic , it was shut down . There was even talk to never open again .
“ We sell out basically midweek and then leisure some weekends ,” Strebel said of the property . “ It ' s 400 rooms , one restaurant and call it a day .” Omni kept it shut for a year and due in part to impacts from union-related issues , there was real discussion to not reopen , Strebel said . “ We were like , ' If we reopen the way they want us to and we ' re going to lose more money and we don ' t have a mortgage on it , why don ' t we just keep it shut ?'” ( The
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hotel reopened on November 1 , 2021 .)
STRUCTURED APPROACH Unlike many branded hotel companies , which either franchise or operate hotels , eschewing ownership , Omni continues to operate and own assets through its parent company , TRT , or through joint ventures . All but 11 hotels are 100 % owned and operated by Omni ; others , such as Omni San Diego and Omni Frisco at The Star , are 50 % owned by Trinity Investments and the Dallas Cowboys , respectively .
The Star is the 91-acre campus of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and practice facility in Frisco , Texas , developed in partnership between the City of Frisco and Frisco ISD . It ' s an immersive experience for Cowboys fans , with the Omni hotel , there , an anchor .
It was the brainchild of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones , of whom Strebel called a “ great
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The Ladies ' Bathhouse at The Omni Homestead in Hot Springs , Va .
guy ” and sang the praises of the entire Jones family .
Omni , in fact , is drawn to projects connected to sports and professional teams . Beyond The Star , Omni also operates and is half owner of the Omni Hotel at The Battery Atlanta . The other owner : the Atlanta Braves , which play their home games next door at Truist Park .
Meanwhile , Omni is also tending to the upkeep of its portfolio . One of its latest projects is the $ 160-million meticulous renovation of the Omni Homestead , a storied resort property in Virginia , which , by many accounts , is the oldest resort in the U . S ., dating back to 1766 . It ' s hosted 23 U . S . presidents . Completion of the renovation should be done by fall and includes an entire redo of the famed hot springs pools .
“ I hate it when people take these old hotels and kind of modernize them ,” Strebel said . “ We brought it back to its original look .” Omni worked with Wimberly Interiors and
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Richmond architecture firm 3North , which used the 2016 Historic Structures Report as a guide to preserve the Homestead ' s hot spring pools and bathhouses . Strebel said the restoration was a “ piece of wood by piece of wood ” operation and every piece had to be inspected by the Virginia Historical Society to decide if it had to be reused , refinished or replaced .
“ When you walk in the lobby today , you ' re going to look at it and think you just stepped back into 1766 , because everything is redone and authentic to what it was ,” Strebel said .
COMING SOON New development has become more difficult in the current interest rate climate , but Omni has two new-construction projects on the horizon . One is the Omni Fort Lauderdale , connected to the Broward County Convention Center . The 800-room hotel is slated to break ground soon with a scheduled opening date of 2026 . Omni is also on the cusp of getting started on its first hotel in Mexico , which would be only its third hotel outside the U . S . ( it has two in Canada ). Strebel , excitingly , said Omni was “ hopefully ” set to begin construction on a property in Punta Mita , already home to a slew of luxury hotels .
Omni is currently marked as an upper-upscale brand by STR , with ADRs that are typically over $ 300 per night throughout the portfolio . The idea of adding another brand is not lost on Strebel , but while
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40 hotelsmag . com September 2023 |