Omni Hotels and Resorts Optimistic About Future with Multiple New Properties

Graphic courtesy of Omni Hotels and Resorts

Dan Surette is quite optimistic these days about how the Omni Hotels and Resorts brand is going to impact the meeting and hospitality industries.

In what may be a period of unprecedented growth, Omni’s more than US$1 billion in hotel and resort projects in the works, plus additional projects coming on soon, gives the senior vice president of sales and marketing confidence that Omni is positioned to further entrench itself as a major player in the meeting and event industry while continuing to maintain its commitment to quality and service.

“Genuine hospitality matters,” he said on Thursday, quoting a part of the company’s guiding principles. “Hospitality is much more than just the business we are in. It’s an ethos. A way of life. It isn’t just what we do, it’s who we are.”

Those thoughts were at the heart of Surette’s presentation as Omni hosted a brand immersion tour that included visits to the Omni Frisco, Omni Dallas and Omni Fort Worth hotels.

Omni, which is headquartered in Dallas, has 42 wholly owned branded properties, five joint venture partnerships, nine properties managed for other companies and two franchised properties.

Just in the last year, Omni has opened three properties that have made an impressive impact in the Dallas, Louisville and Atlanta markets.

The Omni Frisco, part of $1.5 billion investment which is half-owned by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, opened in July 2017. The 300-room hotel with 24,000 square feet of meeting space is connected to a 12,000-seat arena that is part of the Cowboys’ practice facilities and team offices.

The Dallas property is connected to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas. The area around the hotel has seen a recent increase in new restaurants, particularly around the hotel and convention center, giving meeting attendees new options for events functions. The Omni Dallas also showcased its Season of Smoke food and beverage experience, an Omni-wide event that launches in October.

The Fort Worth property also has easy access to the city’s convention center and the hotel is getting ready for upcoming renovations.

The Omni Hotel at the Battery Atlanta opened this year with 264 rooms and 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and is connected to the 41,000-seat Atlanta Braves baseball field.

The Omni Louisville, a $300 million investment, opened in March with 612 rooms, 225 luxury apartments and 70,000 square feet of meeting space, with easy access to the recently reopened and rebuilt Kentucky International Convention Center.

There’s more coming.

Omni is breaking ground next week in Oklahoma City on a $241 million hotel that will include more than 600 rooms and 78,000 square feet of meeting space. The Omni Houston, which was damaged in the 2017 hurricane, is reopening later this year after a $30 million renovation. Another Texas property, the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, will reopen next year following a $150 million upgrade that includes additional rooms and meeting and event space.

The company has also broken ground on a $550 million investment, the Omni Boston Seaport Hotel, which will feature 1,055 rooms and 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

Plus there is more coming in new projects soon to be announced. Through all of this, Surette believes Omni has not lost sight of its mission.

“While I would love to have five or 10 more properties, we like where we are,” he said. “We’re smaller, but we want to control the experience. At Omni, we want to deliver and be different. I’ve been doing this for 30 years and that’s special. The magic is in the details.”

Surette joined Omni as vice president of sales in 2017 after working for Starwood, Hyatt and Sheraton. He was promoted early this year to his current role of senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Cara Banasch, who joined Omni this year as vice president of sales following Surette’s promotion, is equally optimistic.

“We’re in an exceptional period right now,” she said. “The brand is very strong and where we’re headed with this growth is going to be good for everyone, leisure and meetings business.”

Surette also shared updates to the company’s Select Planner reward program, which is unique in how free nights and tiers can be achieved. Two examples are that free nights will be awarded on a night-for-night basis versus a point system, and local experiences can be earned.

He also described the Say Goodnight to Hunger corporate responsibility program as part of its partnership with the PGA golf tour. The company provides four meals for a family in need for every birdie or better made during a PGA Tour event. So far, more than 19,800 meals have been donated.

“What Omni is doing is different,” Surette said. “We want to own the experience and not be the cookie cutter. We’re in the hospitality business and believe our brand is different. “