Without the Roberts Hotel open right across the street, the Horizon Convention Center has to adapt the services it offers clients as the hotel will not reopen until at least next year.
The Roberts Hotel is important to the convention center's business, Peter Dvorak, the hotel's owner and CEO of Pinnacle Properties, said last Tuesday.
"[The Roberts has] a significant impact on the ability of the convention center to attract conventions," he said. "Having a full-service hotel right across the street is a factor in a meeting planner's decision."
Without a hotel close to its facilities, the convention center has had to make adjustments. But Dan Allen, president of the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, said he was optimistic.
"We're going to make the most of it and do whatever it takes to satisfy our clients," Allen said.
Dvorak and Mayor Dan Canan were unavailable for comment on how the Roberts Hotel's renovations are coming along.
"From what I understand, the owners are working with the city of Muncie to renovate and reopen [the Roberts] as a Hilton Garden Inn," said Tim Dora, a partner in Dora Brothers Hospitality, which helps manage the Roberts Hotel for the owner.
Pinnacle Properties needs money from Muncie to help supplement what it would spend on the renovations, he said.
The renovations would cost approximately $10 million dollars in total, Dvorak said.
"The owners are not willing to expose themselves to the risk involved in making it a modern, competitive hotel," Dora said.
Ideally, Dvorak said, he would like to find a way to jointly fund and run the operations for both the hotel and the convention center.
Allen said he "wouldn't be opposed to it."He is a part of a group that oversees operations at the Horizon Convention Center and said he would love to work with Dvorak. However, he said a joint arrangement might be complicated.
"[The convention center] is a tax-afforded entity and the [Roberts Hotel] is for-profit," Allen said. "Also, I think other hotels would have an issue with it. We have to be very careful not to recommend one hotel over the other."
The convention center has replaced the Roberts Hotel's convenient location with a closed-loop shuttle service to and from the convention center and area hotels, Allen said. Guests have to wait approximately five to ten minutes for the shuttles, he said.
"It's a short-term solution, but, in the long-term, we need a hotel," executive director of the convention center Joann McKinney said.
The shuttle runs on a client-by-client basis, she said.
Other changes include a lounge area for relaxation, an "E-zone" with computer kiosks, Internet access and a flat-screen television, and a coat and materials check so guests can unload their heavier belongings and any handouts they might receive at a convention, Allen said.
The convention center has several bids with area hotels to secure room rates for convention center clients, McKinney said.
The general manager of the Fairfield Inn Muncie, Aaron Hymes, said he has benefited from Robert's closing.
"I have gotten more phone calls from businesses that have used the Roberts in the past," he said.
Those businesses include companies such as GHR Engineering and Ontario Systems. The Fairfield Inn was able to provide them with overnight reservations, meeting room space and banquet accommodations, he said.
Even though the Roberts Hotel has closed, the convention center hopes to continue last year's success, hosting more than 35 conventions, Allen said. The convention center manages to hang on to previous clients because of its superior service, but the Roberts was a main draw when trying to bring in new clients unfamiliar with Muncie, he said.
"I hope [Dvorak] follows through with his promise to renovate and reopen the hotel," Allen said.
Dvorak said he is hopeful that communication between all entities involved will continue so as to resolve in something mutually beneficial.
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