Again with the Regency....

[Guest Guest]

Again with the Regency.....

 

In efforts to market the City of Binghamton maybe Mr. Santoni, Mr. Ryan and Mr.Liberatore should first learn how many hotels there actually are in "downtown" Binghamton.

 

I count three, not two as they do. The Regency, The Holiday Inn and The Grand Royale. Remember the Grand Royal on State Street? You know, the hotel that owes over $300,000 in back taxes that either Broome County or the City of Binghamton now own, depending upon who you ask.

 

Of course there is the Dixie Hotel that houses the sex offenders flocking to Binghamton, that might be the busiest hotel of all here.

 

As for Nexus Hospitality, have they actually closed on The Regency yet? Wasn't the deal contingent upon their gettting financing and other thing?

 

Finally, we keep hearing how they plan to invest an additional $4,000,000 in The Regency but nowhere in the sales contract is that written. In fact, Nexus has no obligation to invest anything in The Regecrny. Ryan turned down another offer to purchase the hotel for about $1,000,000 more gross citing that supposed $4,000,000 investment but where is it guaranteed?????

 

 

Monday February 11, 2008

 

Banking on Tier's event potential

Officials: Region could see growth in convention hosting

 

By Brian Liberatore

Press & Sun-Bulletin

 

BINGHAMTON -- Ten million dollars is a lot to put into a hotel with a history of insolvency, investors say. But in Binghamton it's good business.

 

So say the members of Nexus Hospitality Management LLC, the Scranton, Pa., group paying $5.9 million for the downtown Regency Hotel and Conference Center. The group has plans to put $4 million more into the building.

 

Far from banking on the hotel's history -- which includes a loan default, flood damage and two decades of neglect -- the group says the Regency offers a way into the lucrative convention, meeting and conference industry and a foothold in a region set for growth.

 

Mike Kearney, a partner with Nexus, agrees with local officials who see the Southern Tier's share of the convention industry exploding in the next several years given the right marketing and the right hotel.

 

"It's all about marketability," Kerney said earlier this year. "There is no question the Regency can be successful, especially given its expansive guest rooms and ballroom space."

 

$20 million pie

 

Nationally, conventions, meetings and events constitute a multibillion-dollar industry, which has grown despite a sagging economy. A recent study by Meeting Professionals International and American Express predicts a 19 percent spike in attendance to those events in 2008.

 

In the Southern Tier, conventions bring about $20 million to the area annually, according to the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce.

 

Darcy Fauci, Broome County's director of economic development, said most people don't realize how much business the chamber's Convention and Visitors Bureau does.

 

"It's very much under the radar," she said.

 

Convention dollars locally are up about 5 percent to 7 percent from the last year, said Lou Santoni, director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Growth is possible, Santoni said, but it won't be easy.

 

Every time the city brings in a new event, it is competing with other upstate cities and regions across the country, Santoni said. To bring in events, the bureau's five-member staff works with sales staff at the Regency and Holiday Inn --Arena, along with officials at Binghamton University, The Forum in Binghamton and other venues.

 

 

Binghamton has averaged about 170 different conventions each year, Santoni said. Each conference brings in between 100 and 15,000 people.

 

Downtown capacity

 

The city took charge of the Regency in February 2007 after its previous owner, Sarbro Associates, defaulted on its loan.

 

Under a deal brokered in the 1980s between the city, Sarbro Associates and the federal government, the city was obliged to pay back loans from the federal government if Sarbro defaulted.

 

When the city took over the hotel, about $5 million of the federal loan was outstanding.

 

Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan said the city had to decide whether it wanted to keep the hotel a hotel. The city, he said, was looking at offers to convert the space into student housing.

 

The Regency had a history of poor occupancy rates.

 

In the eight months since the city took over, records show the hotel's occupancy averaged about 34 percent -- about half the national average. The hotel's previous owners blamed tough economic conditions for their loan default.

 

Still, Ryan and members of City Council agreed to sell the Regency as a hotel. Untapped convention dollars helped spur that decision, Ryan said.

 

"We just felt that we needed hotel capacity downtown if we want to attract these kinds of events," Ryan said. "I do think there is more room for growth. There's a lot of capacity in our two hotels."

 

Just a few blocks south of the Regency, the Holiday Inn Arena offers additional convention space. It's the two hotels combined that make Binghamton a more attractive location.

 

"You need two first class facilities downtown," Santoni said. "They feed off of each other. You need not just the hotel rooms but the meeting space."

 

All the amenities

 

"Binghamton is not a destination city," said Bill Stacy, director of sales at the Holiday Inn Arena. "The thing that sells Binghamton more than anything is we have affordable rates and we're centrally located. We get our fair share of New York state conventions. We do a good share of the fraternal organizations."

 

Sporting events have been among the most profitable venues in the region's convention market, Santoni noted. Binghamton is able to compete with much larger cities for sporting events in part because of Binghamton University's facilities.

 

The downtown hotels are a five-minute drive from the university's events center.

 

Compared with areas such as Long Island, that offer perpetual traffic congestion, the Southern Tier can be an attractive venue for events like the Empire State Games or the Special Olympics.

 

The Empire State Games, perhaps the region's most visible event, bring about $10 million to the Tier. But smaller events add their share, Santoni said.

 

"You have a soccer tournament with 100 teams, that's 1,500 hotel rooms. It's a nice business," Santoni said.

 

The Forum and the Arena, both easily accessible downtown, add to the amenities that keep Binghamton a formidable competitor.

 

"It's always been that way. We certainly need these two hotels, and we need to keep them operating and functioning to the best of their abilities," Fauci said. "They need to be concentrated like that. They need to be near facilities, near restaurants and near each other."

 

Barbara Bovat, of the Hudson Valley, serves as the conference chairwoman for the Professional Photographers Society of New York State Inc. The group uses Binghamton for its quarterly meetings, Bovat said, because of its central location. And while the group has held its convention in the Southern Tier over the past decade, "it has limits because of its size."

 

Combined, the Regency and Holiday Inn Arena offer about 450 rooms. With larger events, Santoni said, other hotels, including the motels and inns along the Vestal Parkway in Vestal and Upper Front Street in Chenango accommodate the spillover.

 

The region has the capacity to accommodate events such as the Empire State Games at BU, the Dick's Open at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott and the American Hockey League at the Arena.

 

Most events in the region -- those that the downtown hotels can cater to -- typically see crowds of several hundred to 2,000 people, Santoni said.

 

Participants and organizers of small and mid-sized events also can expect special treatment, Ryan said.

 

"They can get much more attention in a market like this," Ryan said. "They feel special in a market like this."

 

 

[Guest Guest]

ed's sick 0bsession lives on

[Guest Facts Are Better]

Again with the Regency.....

 

In efforts to market the City of Binghamton maybe Mr. Santoni, Mr. Ryan and Mr.Liberatore should first learn how many hotels there actually are in "downtown" Binghamton.

 

I count three, not two as they do. The Regency, The Holiday Inn and The Grand Royale. Remember the Grand Royal on State Street? You know, the hotel that owes over $300,000 in back taxes that either Broome County or the City of Binghamton now own, depending upon who you ask.

 

Of course there is the Dixie Hotel that houses the sex offenders flocking to Binghamton, that might be the busiest hotel of all here.

 

As for Nexus Hospitality, have they actually closed on The Regency yet? Wasn't the deal contingent upon their gettting financing and other thing?

 

Finally, we keep hearing how they plan to invest an additional $4,000,000 in The Regency but nowhere in the sales contract is that written. In fact, Nexus has no obligation to invest anything in The Regecrny. Ryan turned down another offer to purchase the hotel for about $1,000,000 more gross citing that supposed $4,000,000 investment but where is it guaranteed?????

 

 

Monday February 11, 2008

 

Banking on Tier's event potential

Officials: Region could see growth in convention hosting

 

By Brian Liberatore

Press & Sun-Bulletin

 

BINGHAMTON -- Ten million dollars is a lot to put into a hotel with a history of insolvency, investors say. But in Binghamton it's good business.

 

So say the members of Nexus Hospitality Management LLC, the Scranton, Pa., group paying $5.9 million for the downtown Regency Hotel and Conference Center. The group has plans to put $4 million more into the building.

 

Far from banking on the hotel's history -- which includes a loan default, flood damage and two decades of neglect -- the group says the Regency offers a way into the lucrative convention, meeting and conference industry and a foothold in a region set for growth.

 

Mike Kearney, a partner with Nexus, agrees with local officials who see the Southern Tier's share of the convention industry exploding in the next several years given the right marketing and the right hotel.

 

"It's all about marketability," Kerney said earlier this year. "There is no question the Regency can be successful, especially given its expansive guest rooms and ballroom space."

 

$20 million pie

 

Nationally, conventions, meetings and events constitute a multibillion-dollar industry, which has grown despite a sagging economy. A recent study by Meeting Professionals International and American Express predicts a 19 percent spike in attendance to those events in 2008.

 

In the Southern Tier, conventions bring about $20 million to the area annually, according to the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce.

 

Darcy Fauci, Broome County's director of economic development, said most people don't realize how much business the chamber's Convention and Visitors Bureau does.

 

"It's very much under the radar," she said.

 

Convention dollars locally are up about 5 percent to 7 percent from the last year, said Lou Santoni, director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Growth is possible, Santoni said, but it won't be easy.

 

Every time the city brings in a new event, it is competing with other upstate cities and regions across the country, Santoni said. To bring in events, the bureau's five-member staff works with sales staff at the Regency and Holiday Inn --Arena, along with officials at Binghamton University, The Forum in Binghamton and other venues.

 

 

Binghamton has averaged about 170 different conventions each year, Santoni said. Each conference brings in between 100 and 15,000 people.

 

Downtown capacity

 

The city took charge of the Regency in February 2007 after its previous owner, Sarbro Associates, defaulted on its loan.

 

Under a deal brokered in the 1980s between the city, Sarbro Associates and the federal government, the city was obliged to pay back loans from the federal government if Sarbro defaulted.

 

When the city took over the hotel, about $5 million of the federal loan was outstanding.

 

Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan said the city had to decide whether it wanted to keep the hotel a hotel. The city, he said, was looking at offers to convert the space into student housing.

 

The Regency had a history of poor occupancy rates.

 

In the eight months since the city took over, records show the hotel's occupancy averaged about 34 percent -- about half the national average. The hotel's previous owners blamed tough economic conditions for their loan default.

 

Still, Ryan and members of City Council agreed to sell the Regency as a hotel. Untapped convention dollars helped spur that decision, Ryan said.

 

"We just felt that we needed hotel capacity downtown if we want to attract these kinds of events," Ryan said. "I do think there is more room for growth. There's a lot of capacity in our two hotels."

 

Just a few blocks south of the Regency, the Holiday Inn Arena offers additional convention space. It's the two hotels combined that make Binghamton a more attractive location.

 

"You need two first class facilities downtown," Santoni said. "They feed off of each other. You need not just the hotel rooms but the meeting space."

 

All the amenities

 

"Binghamton is not a destination city," said Bill Stacy, director of sales at the Holiday Inn Arena. "The thing that sells Binghamton more than anything is we have affordable rates and we're centrally located. We get our fair share of New York state conventions. We do a good share of the fraternal organizations."

 

Sporting events have been among the most profitable venues in the region's convention market, Santoni noted. Binghamton is able to compete with much larger cities for sporting events in part because of Binghamton University's facilities.

 

The downtown hotels are a five-minute drive from the university's events center.

 

Compared with areas such as Long Island, that offer perpetual traffic congestion, the Southern Tier can be an attractive venue for events like the Empire State Games or the Special Olympics.

 

The Empire State Games, perhaps the region's most visible event, bring about $10 million to the Tier. But smaller events add their share, Santoni said.

 

"You have a soccer tournament with 100 teams, that's 1,500 hotel rooms. It's a nice business," Santoni said.

 

The Forum and the Arena, both easily accessible downtown, add to the amenities that keep Binghamton a formidable competitor.

 

"It's always been that way. We certainly need these two hotels, and we need to keep them operating and functioning to the best of their abilities," Fauci said. "They need to be concentrated like that. They need to be near facilities, near restaurants and near each other."

 

Barbara Bovat, of the Hudson Valley, serves as the conference chairwoman for the Professional Photographers Society of New York State Inc. The group uses Binghamton for its quarterly meetings, Bovat said, because of its central location. And while the group has held its convention in the Southern Tier over the past decade, "it has limits because of its size."

 

Combined, the Regency and Holiday Inn Arena offer about 450 rooms. With larger events, Santoni said, other hotels, including the motels and inns along the Vestal Parkway in Vestal and Upper Front Street in Chenango accommodate the spillover.

 

The region has the capacity to accommodate events such as the Empire State Games at BU, the Dick's Open at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott and the American Hockey League at the Arena.

 

Most events in the region -- those that the downtown hotels can cater to -- typically see crowds of several hundred to 2,000 people, Santoni said.

 

Participants and organizers of small and mid-sized events also can expect special treatment, Ryan said.

 

"They can get much more attention in a market like this," Ryan said. "They feel special in a market like this."

 

If article is not saying there are two hotels in "downtown" Binghamton... it was talking about facilities able to hold conventions. One is unable to in the the space inside the Grand Royale. One meeting room in the grand Royal is not a convention center.

[Guest Facts Are Better]

If article is not saying there are two hotels in "downtown" Binghamton... it was talking about facilities able to hold conventions. One is unable to in the the space inside the Grand Royale. One meeting room in the grand Royal is not a convention center.

 

Sorry about the typo... If = The... I was starting with a different response and missed that.

[Ed Arzouian]

No, the article is clearly discussing the number of rooms:

 

"You have a soccer tournament with 100 teams, that's 1,500 hotel rooms. It's a nice business," Santoni said.

 

"Combined, the Regency and Holiday Inn Arena offer about 450 rooms. "

 

I still would like to know how the City plans to guarantee the investment from Nexus? How can they be assured Nexus will invest another $4,000,000? Why isn't it in writing?

 

Finally, do we know if they have found their financing? Because if they don't they can walk away from the deal.

[Guest Guest]

If article is not saying there are two hotels in "downtown" Binghamton... it was talking about facilities able to hold conventions. One is unable to in the the space inside the Grand Royale. One meeting room in the grand Royal is not a convention center.

 

 

Look like you were wrong.