The Sheraton Newport Beach, a fixture of the airport-area hotel scene since 1964, will be converted to a Radisson in June, according to an official with Radisson Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
Mark Zovic, general manager of the property and vice president of operations for Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Larken Hotels, the owner and manager of the 335-room Sheraton, said the hotel had been looking for a flag change for some time. Zovic said the Radisson name was attractive because of its worldwide reservation system and its ability to bring travel agent bookings to the property through agencies owned by Radisson’s parent company, Carlson Cos., St. Paul, Minn.
“Everybody talks about web bookings,” Zovic said, “but the web is about 2% to 3% of reservations. Fifteen percent of bookings come from travel agents.”
The property will continue to be owned and managed by Larken Hotels, and Zovic said no key personnel changes are planned.
“We just think we’ll get more bang for the dollar from Radisson,” Zovic said. “We think the Radisson name can bring in more business.”
The Sheraton Newport Beach, which ranked No. 18 on the Business Journal’s most recent list of largest OC hotels, also will undergo a renovation of its rooms and public areas estimated to be in the $2 million to $3 million range. As part of the renovation, the management is negotiating with local artist Wyland for a lobby sculpture. n
