The Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa is scheduled to start a $20 million renovation this week, with makeovers for its 393 rooms expected to be finished in April.
The hotel—which is within walking distance of the world-renowned shopping center it’s named for—will get redesigned bathrooms, 52-inch TVs, new carpet and more closet space. Another major change: 52 rooms will switch from two beds to one—in line with Westin’s main business.
“80% of our guests are the individual business customer,” said Kevin Schiller, Los Angeles area director for sales and marketing for Stamford, Conn.-based Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Starwood manages the Westin for its owner, Bethesda, Md.-based Host Hotels & Resorts.
Hotel occupancy and room rates in Orange County and nationwide have climbed in recent years, and new supply is limited, according to news reports.
“Hotels are doing much, much better, so they have funds to go into renovation,” said Alan Reay, president of Irvine-based hospitality consultant Atlas Hospitality Group.
Reay said market competition—the Westin is the second largest hotel in the area, according to Costa Mesa-based South Coast Metro Alliance, a business development group—and the requirements of the Starwood brand are driving the renovation.
From “2009 to 2011, the brands pulled back a bit when hotels were struggling. So what you’re seeing is a huge amount of renovation,” Reay said. “Starwood is making sure all properties in their system are up to standards.”
Schiller said hotels generally renovate rooms every six to seven years, and the Westin—built in 1975—last had work done in 2006, before the recession.
The budget had hit $17 million to $18 million, but the hotel decided to scrape the rooms’ acoustic ceilings, repaint them, and add crown moulding.
Redoing “popcorn” ceilings and the finer touches added about $3 million to the budget, Schiller said.
He said Starwood has a “brand renovation team” that works through each choice when planning a renovation.
Much is governed by the requirements of the Westin name, Schiller said, from the Westin Heavenly Bed and its solid white linens to the chrome and glass look of mirrors, lamps and other fixtures.
A visit to a current room and a model room showed a color scheme of grays and blues replacing browns and greens.
The single, room-length counter for the television and workspace is set to become separate surface areas.
Westin’s design plan shows a space for an ottoman under the TV. When the ottoman is pulled out, luggage fits below and kids traveling with families have a perch for gaming or TV-watching.
Some work has already begun on the makeovers: In line with industry trends, the hotel began removing minibars this year, replacing them with refrigerators.
“Minibar use has been down and down for the last 10 to 12 years, and it takes a lot to maintain them,” he said.
Westin guests are often away all day at meetings or attractions and also bring their own food or use grocery-type stores now in hotels.
“Grab-and-go is the new thing,” Schiller said.
In-room safes will be more accessible—in the main room instead of the closet—and they’re getting a tech boost.
“Guests were asking us for chargers inside the safe, for when they store their laptops.”
Schiller said that for most of the renovation four floors will be closed off. The lowest of the four will serve as a buffer between the work and the guests.
He said renovation of each floor will take an average of 33 days and that floors will be added on a rolling schedule.
Instead of a 393-room hotel, the 16-floor Westin will function as a 277-room property during most of the renovation.
Impact on Business
The hotel’s occupancy has been consistently around 80%, so the renovation will likely cut into business.
The hotel chose to close more floors at a time rather than take longer on renovations, Schiller said.
“We’ll have displacement [of guests] no matter what,” he said. “So the quicker it gets done, the better.”
Schiller said the hotel has “communicated extensively with our key customers” about the work, including helping with booking
rooms further in advance to ensure their stay.
He said occupancies decline slightly in the fall, making it a good time to start the work.
Schiller said the Westin plans to renovate its 33,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space in 2016.
He said details are still being worked out but that the project would cost about $10 million.
