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High demand, rates prompt NYC hotel development.

Article Excerpt
While the dark cloud of tight hotel occupancies and rising room rates is likely to remain over New York City through 2007 and beyond, there also is a silver lining in the form of new and improved hotels geared to business travelers' needs. With hotels eager to get the most out of the lucrative Manhattan market, more properties are being developed or repositioned with corporate customers in mind.

In the wake of Manhattan's impressive track record of late, hotel companies are looking for opportunities wherever they can. With construction costs and Manhattan site scarcity making ground-up development of large full-service hotels all but impossible these days, developers instead are building small properties or giving extensive makeovers to existing hotels.

Among the hotel companies following both routes is Hilton, which recently introduced its Hilton Garden Inn brand of mid-price hotels to the city. The Hilton Garden Inn Times Square, a 369-room property converted from an existing hotel opened in the theater district last year. The 150-room Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca, a new build, is scheduled to open next spring.

According to Adrian Kurre, senior vice president of brand management for Hilton Garden Inn, the company is looking for further opportunities to expand in Manhattan as well as in the greater New...

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