AC Hotel

[u50254082]

Structured parking is much more expensive to build and maintain than surface parking at hotels in suburbs. However, paid parking in suburbs coming as it already exits in larger cities.

Got any examples?

[Rover]

Examples of what? Paid suburban parking. Sure.. paid at the Le Meridian in Dallas a couple of weeks ago. The Hilton two weeks ago. How many do you need? If you travel you would know that we complain here about things that are normal elsewhere.

[u50254082]

Examples of what? Paid suburban parking. Sure.. paid at the Le Meridian in Dallas a couple of weeks ago. The Hilton two weeks ago. How many do you need? If you travel you would know that we complain here about things that are normal elsewhere.

Not sure which Hilton you're referring to, but the Le Meridiens in Dallas are both in areas where paid parking would be expected (one right near the Galleria and the other a mile north of the heart of the city). We must have very different definitions of suburban.

[Rover]

This board will argue about anything. Both are in suburban areas and either have surface or free parking nearby. Le Meridien is surface parking. Hilton has both as it is near an office complex, though there is free surface adjoining it. If we want to just deny reality, fine. I was asked for examples and then we debate. I assume you are saying there is no suburban Dallas.

People need to travel more and be aware.

[baralheia]

The majority of the available parking spaces at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, IL, just next door to Chicago O'Hare, are paid parking, for one example. Another example is the Hotel Intercontinental Dallas - it's actually located off of Beltline and the Dallas North Tollway in Addison, a good distance from downtown, and the majority of their parking is paid as well.

[Urbanized]

Even discount properties have paid parking. At the Courtyard by Marriott Medical/Market Center on Stemmons in Dallas it is $5/day.

[David]

There's an event I've gone down to at the Crowne Plaza near Beltline for a few years now. Initially the parking was free, it turned paid for one single year, and then this year it was back to free.

On the other hand I was at the Springhill Suites right in downtown Dallas just a couple weekends ago, and the only available parking was paid which was not a surprise.

[warreng88]

AC Hotel gets early checkout in OKC

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record December 15, 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY – AC Hotel General Manager Jim Mullins’ eyes are bright as he walks around the property’s first floor.

He’s spent most of his hotelier career with the Marriott brand, the company behind AC. The Tulsa native started at Residence Inn and worked his way through the Marriott properties nationwide.

But the AC stands out from its Marriott siblings, he said.

“It’s very different,” he said. “It’s very unconventional.”

The 142-room hotel sits at the corner of E. Sheridan and Joe Carter avenues. It is managed by NewcrestImage.

The lobby is open, with a bar to the left. The front desk is a large piece of marble, where the computers roll out from drawers. The floor, from the bathrooms to the bar, is Italian marble.

Artwork made by Oklahoma City artists dots the lobby. Two pieces are Bricktown natives: Railroad track that once ran near the site has been turned into a sculpture and bricks from the district are displayed in an arch.

Besides the artwork, one of the features that makes the hotel stand apart from its neighbors is the focus on the bar. Nearly half of the lobby is the open-air bar, where a mixologist will be serving drinks.

“We know that our guests will come here, have a drink, and then they’ll go explore Bricktown,” he said.

The select-service hotel’s food and beverage options will make it stand out from other properties in the same category, said Mike Carrier, president of the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“Their food and beverage is a different model than what the majority of hotels in America offer, particularly with select-service hotels,” he said.

The hotel offers a tapas menu, which traces back to its Spanish-inspired roots. Items include Spanish meatballs topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, arugula, and ricotta cheese. There’s also a brunch with European meats and breads.

Oklahoma City’s AC opens Dec. 22, making it one of the first to open in the country. The first property opened in New Orleans. The Dallas AC opened on Thursday, and the Houston AC is under construction.

HotelBrokerOne Chief Operating Officer Peter Holmes said the AC is a continuation of hoteliers looking to the city as a good testing ground for a new product. The first Residence Inn, Value Place, and Tru by Hilton were built here. In August 2018, IHG’s Avid will open, making it the first of its kind. The city will also get one of the first Canopy by Hilton hotels.

Holmes said AC will stand out from other properties in Bricktown.

“There is a danger that the east side is becoming overbuilt,” he said. “But the AC will do well. It’s an excellent location.”

He said it’s a millennial-driven brand, with a focus on amenities that are important to that age group. He said it speaks well to Oklahoma City that it made the “first” list.

Mullins said the hotel’s two media salons will be attractive to the business traveler. They are small, glass-surrounded rooms, with different media connections to watch a slideshow or have a conference call. The fitness area has five cardio machines with a television on each.

“(AC) is focused on experience,” Holmes said. “There are individual amenities that are important to the youthful traveler.”

Mullins said the hotel already has reservations and is 25 percent booked for New Year’s Eve. Carrier said the CVB is working with groups who are coming to the city and interested in the property.

[Pete]

As a reminder, AC Hotel opened today.

I'm going to have to stop by and try out their bar. Really a nice setting and will bring a lot of life to that very visible corner.

[bradh]

I hate the word "mixologist"

[Pete]

I hate the word "mixologist"

Haha...

I was just thinking the other day there are some similarly pretentious terms that are getting old and often misused:

- Curated. Such as 'curated retail'. It's a commercial building not The Louvre and almost every landlord merely takes the people who step up and want to pay them rent, regardless of their rhetoric.
- Craft. Such as 'craft cocktails' or 'craft beer'. So overused it no longer means anything.
- Local. Every single business is local in most respects and even with dreaded chains they often have resident franchisees (like this AC Hotel, in fact) who invest heavily in the local economy. The irony is when Oklahoman reporters harp on this when they themselves are owned by a huge out-of-town conglomerate. And the majority of of the owners of Devon, Chesapeake and other 'local' publicly traded companies are hedge funds with investors nowhere near Oklahoma.

[bradh]

Yeah, I mean, you're a bartender. That's okay, it's a cool job that pays well in many instances. No need for a fancy name.

I agree on the local deal, and I'll admit I'm guilty of it sometimes. You're dead on about the franchisee deal.

[Urbanized]

Anthony Bourdain had a funny, derisive line once about “sock-headed ‘mixologists’” that I think of every time I hear the term. He also generally hates craft beer, on which he and I part ways, other than I get the dislike for pretension. I do like having lots of beer options and flavors available these days, and enjoy sampling beers from other regions, especially when traveling.

[Urbanized]

A good example of the local vs locally-franchised chain is the guys who own Fuzzy’s and Texadelphia in OKC. Technically out-of-state chains, but they have done a lot of tweaks to the locally-offered product, invest heavily in OKC, are involved in the community, and constantly seeking other purely-local opportunities (Jones Assembly, for example).

Contrast that with a company like Braum’s, which I grew up loving, but which these days seems a bit out of touch with its home market of OKC. Not to pick on Braum’s. But if I have a choice to support one over the other I’m headed to Fuzzy’s/T-Delph/Jones, and I’m going there without regret.

[bradh]

I'd give Ed a shout too with his BW3 franchise also

[Pryor Tiger]

The AC Hotel has been open almost a week! Definitely go by and check it out if you have time, the lobby especially will really impress you. Also, it is on the slow side right now due to the holidays so a perfect time to try it out without larger crowds. At 5 PM each day they have a toast including a practice where they drink wine from a chalice by pouring it from the spout through the air and into the mouth. Guests can participate, and they have covers if worried about missing. Truly a special hotel, all bias aside (due to working for the company).

[Pete]

[HOT ROD]

looks very nice, I especially love the canopy and what looks to be a continuous balcony at the mezzanine level; not to mention the very nice street-wall effect of the entire Steelyard block.

Can't wait for the final steelyard apartment block to finish off all the way to Lincoln. ... Wow!

[Pete]

The bar at the AC is very nice and worthwhile, although a bit pricey, as are almost all hotel bars.

Still great setting right on the corner with some outdoor tables.

[HOT ROD]

I think this will be heavily utilized (to the delight) of tourists and visitors to OKC. This looks so very big city and is the atmosphere and expectation that I am hoping the new courtyard patio Sheraton is creating in the CBD will have.

Venues to "See and be Seen" - OKC needs much more of that; esp if we want to get events like the NBA All-Star game or premium Conventions - we need venues that other major cities have and we sorely lack in this department but AC (and hopefully Sheraton) is a huge step toward that.

I honestly wish there was a way to build the planned rooftop bar/restaurant at the Chesapeake Arena. And perhaps add (or better utilize) patio space at Mahogony, Flint, Broadway 10, Drake, and other restaurants. Again, this would raise the bar for the see and be seen options in the city and completely change the image of OKC removing the stereotype that there's "nothing to do here".

[gopokes88]

I think this will be heavily utilized (to the delight) of tourists and visitors to OKC. This looks so very big city and is the atmosphere and expectation that I am hoping the new courtyard patio Sheraton is creating in the CBD will have.

Venues to "See and be Seen" - OKC needs much more of that; esp if we want to get events like the NBA All-Star game or premium Conventions - we need venues that other major cities have and we sorely lack in this department but AC (and hopefully Sheraton) is a huge step toward that.

I honestly wish there was a way to build the planned rooftop bar/restaurant at the Chesapeake Arena. And perhaps add (or better utilize) patio space at Mahogony, Flint, Broadway 10, Drake, and other restaurants. Again, this would raise the bar for the see and be seen options in the city and completely change the image of OKC removing the stereotype that there's "nothing to do here".

Wait...what? That’s like the best or one of the best patio’s in the entire city. The others sure, although I’m not sure they have any room, but flint absolutely crushes the patio game.