Wake-up call: Hotels forecast bump in revenue when fabrication workers arrive - Dayton Business Journal:

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During the peak of construction, as many as 100 management and supervisoryh staff may needtemporary housing. Plus, 150 to 200 laborers will likely travel from more than 120 miles away and be lookinbg for a place tostay overnight, said Rick Whitney, presidentt of U.S. Operations, the project manager. “I wouldn’t be surprisedd to see well over 200 room nightesin hotels, but it will come down to the hotel’sd ability to offer extended-stay rates,” Whitneh said. “From a worker’s standpoint, most get a fixed benefit to trave l and then whatever they have to pay for lodgingf comes outof that.” Hotel operators expect to see a bump in revenue once the $4.
2 billion project gets into full “We expect a pretty significant increase in our occupancyy during the construction phase from subcontractors and that will come that will not be local,” said Dick general manager of the 114-room & Suites in Another hotel in town, the 120-room Hyatt Place, has alreadu benefited: Executives from and M+W Zande have been staying there the past two months as momentum builr toward the start of ground-clearing this GlobalFoundries will own the 1.3 million-square-foot chip fab. “Rightg now we’re seeing 40 to 50 room nightswa month,” said Courtney Wylie, assistant generap manager at .
Of course, it’sw not just chain hotels a short drive from the that couled see increased businessduring construction. Hotelx throughout the county, and perhaps in neighboring could be used if the price is right and thedrivew isn’t too far. Apartment complexesa are another option for those who will be here for anextendeed period. of Saratoga, a 336-unit upscal apartment complex off Exit 15in Wilton, startec seeing an influx of tenantsz affiliated with the chip fab about three months ago. Rents range from $1,250 to $1,825. The tenantsa aren’t construction workers; they are white-collar employees moving here from Texaand California, said William M.
Hoblock, managin g director of , which owns The There are also peoplefrom Finland, Japa and Germany who moved here to work in technology-relatede companies. They are living in fullyg furnished apartments for threw to six months at The Paddocks in an arrangement know n ascorporate housing. The old roadside motels and cottages scattered along Routes 9 and 50 could be an attractive place for construction workers willing tosacrificed flat-screen TVs, a fitness center and indoor pool to save a few bucks.
A real estatw agent trying to drum up interest in one of thoseroadsidee motels—the on Route 50 in Ballston Lake—has a creativ e idea for an out-of-town contractor: buy the nine-unit use it for housinh employees, and then sell it after the work is Bob Howe of Coldwelll Banker Prime Properties said the motel is only five milese from Luther Forest. It’s on the marketf for $299,000. “If you do the math on what it costzs to put somebody up for a week for one or two and you start talkinbgabout 10, 20 or 30 or even five people, the numbere work if they were to look at Howe said.
Contractors will have a lot of choices inSaratogq County, which has 2,7598 hotel rooms, including 1,719 in Saratoga Springs. A buildingg boom has increased the supplu by 14 percent in just the lastyear alone, said David president of the Saratoga Conventiobn and Visitors Bureau. That has drivebn down prices because of the soft demand in corporatr travel due to the economic At the Fairfield Innin Malta, prices are about 10 percent lower than last summer, Murphuy said. Rates range from $109 to $179.
While amenitiexs can make a difference in decidiny whereto stay, he believes the final decisions will come down to Wylie, the assistant GM at the Hyatt Place, said the hotel is well-positioned to compete for chip-fag workers because it’s brand new and offers amenitiee such as round-the-clock food service in-house. Ratews are $89 to $149.