7/16/03

AU HOTEL GETTING NEW AMBIANCE, HIGHER STANDARD

AUBURN -- The new management of the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center has launched a major renovation of the building's public areas as part of a plan to upgrade the facility to a much higher standard.

Starting this summer and continuing through the 2003-04 academic year, the renovation will be a step up from plans announced last year by the previous management company.

Atlanta-based West Paces Ferry Hotel Group assumed management of the AU-owned facility in March as part of the university's plans to bring the hotel-conference center into the academic program of the College of Human Sciences.

The interior renovation, combined with upgrades in service, will enable the new management team to define the hotel as an upscale facility comparable to hotels in major cities around the world, said Alvin Bettcher, the hotel's director of sales and marketing.

In the process, the academic program will prepare students for management careers at the forefront of the hospitality industry, he said.

Starting with the lobby, the hotel will incorporate finer fabrics into draperies and leather in seating surfaces; use darker, deeper-finish woods; add higher-grade furnishings; and take other steps to create a softer, more upscale atmosphere of casual elegance. Hallways will get new wallpaper, and rooms will gain a higher grade of linens, bed covers, towels, robes and other items associated with a first-class hotel, Bettcher said.

"Throughout the hotel and conference center, you will see much more attention to textures and details," he said . "Textures enliven the senses, and they are among the first things people experience when they enter a first-class facility."

Attention to textures is part of a greater emphasis on detail under the new management teamąs philosophy, he noted. The attention to detail is also reflected in the staff, which is receiving training in higher standards of service at every point of contact with guests, he added.

Continuing the renovations in the fall, the hotel will replace the restaurant, lounge, kitchen, gift shop and offices on the first-floor north wing with a larger and more modern restaurant wing that will further define the theme of casual elegance, he added.

The restaurant will offer a Tuscany style menu. Special features will include a gourmet espresso bar, display kitchen and extensive renovation to the bar, which will be in the center of the dining area. A fireplace and outdoor seating will provide a rich ambiance year-round, Bettcher said.

The conference center is slated for renovation early next year. International themes expressed in the lobby and other public areas of the hotel will carry over to the conference center, he said. Some of the most noticeable effects will be in the auditorium, which will gain plusher chairs, increased seating and draperies along the walls to enhance acoustics.

The facility will also have new technology throughout, ranging from a new reservation system to inventory controls. The new computer and communications hardware and software will help the hotel staff become more responsive to guest needs and will provide students with experience in best-management practices, Bettcher said.

The upgrade is under the direction of John Russell, manager since March, and West Paces executives led by Horst Schulze, who also formulated plans with College of Human Sciences Dean June Henton and the college's faculty to integrate the hoteląs management into the academic program.

The interior renovation is separate from the waterproofing and rebricking project AU launched in late 2002 to raise the building's exterior from commercial to institutional standards.

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jul03:AU-hotel

CONTACT: Bettcher, 334/844-5139.