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In New York, NY, landmarks
abound. Some are historic buildings in need of renovation, and like the
Lexington Hotel on Manhattan’s East Side, such projects need to be
done quickly and within budget, but with high style and vision in keeping
with their high-caliber neighbors.
Enter The Gettys Group based in Chicago, IL, one of the nation’s
leading design firms with more than a decade of experience providing exceptional
hospitality design solutions to a variety of clients in the hospitality
industry. With Gettys’ expertise and its exclusive proprietary design
and procurement process called Fast Track Solutions™ (FTS) it was
able to expeditiously transform the historic Lexington Hotel into a high-styled,
high-profit hotel now known as the Radisson Hotel New York-East Side.
Its efforts were recognized recently when the project became one of 12
recipients of the Radisson Renovation Award. Radisson presents the Renovation
Award to hotels that have made a strong commitment to renovation and product
enhancement, and have dedicated the resources required to ensure the highest
quality standard and comfort for Radisson guests.
WELCOMING AND STYLISH
In early 1999, the Lexington Hotel was acquired by the Chicago-based investment
and asset management firm Oxford Capital Partners, Inc. and Dallas, TX-based
Highgate Holdings. The two groups acted quickly to bring the historic
property to the caliber of other neighboring Manhattan hotel landmarks
such as The Waldorf Astoria and The NY Marriott East Side. They knew that
a successful renovation of the building would take vision, precise planning
and expert execution. With that in mind, they turned to Gettys, a design
firm that maintains a sound reputation for promptly developing high-quality
design while being mindful of cost efficiency.
Gettys created a hotel environment that makes a strong impression on the
stretch of Lexington Ave. that is also home to the W Hotel and the Benjamin.
The previously dated guestrooms and public areas were successfully transformed
into a welcoming and stylish hotel.
“We challenged Gettys on this project to design something unique,
distinctive, and within our budget,” said Vann Avedisian, managing
director, Oxford Capital Partners Inc. “They met the challenge and
exceeded our expectations. We have since retained Gettys for yet another
large-scale and challenging project.”
Gettys gave the property a more sophisticated and international flavor
with the use of a neutral color scheme, clean lines, simple patterns and
the reduction of the visual weight of heavy window treatments. The design
firm effectively created a sense of spaciousness. The lobby now offers
a chic, warm environment with 12-foot high floor lamps and whimsical furnishings
that create a presence of New York “now.”
MAXIMUM DESIGN, MINIMUM RISK
Gettys was able to meet and exceed the award’s criteria by utilizing
FTS, a bundled design and purchasing process it developed and offers exclusively.
The FTS approach allows Gettys to maximize efficiency and manage risk.
Furniture, fixtures and accessories budgets are determined at the project’s
outset, a distinct advantage over the conventional design and purchasing
process. Throughout the process Gettys serves as more than a designer
or purchasing agent. It manufactures co-branded furnishings with the industry’s
best and most reliable suppliers. The process saves their clients significant
time and money.
“This was an opportunity to create immense untapped value for our
clients,” says Ron Swidler, Gettys vice president. “In order
to net the most return, this deal needed to move rapidly. We mobilized
a team of designers, vendor partners and a host of other experts and were
able to design and implement a custom model room in New York in less than
six weeks.”
“I worked with a lot of different designers, and Gettys was by far
the best,” says Steve Barick, vice president of development for Radisson
Hotels & Resorts. “They started by listening to the owner’s
objectives then achieving them with flair. That’s why everyone involved
considers the Radisson project a great success.”
Gettys is dedicated to creating value, reducing risk, solving problems
and promoting the business successes of hospitality industry clients.
With 13 years of providing exceptional hospitality design solutions, and
the assemblage of numerous honors, Gettys has designed more than 200 hotels
and has specified and/or purchased over $500 million in furniture, fixtures,
equipment and art. Ranked among the top 10 hospitality purchasing companies
in the United States, and nominated by Hospitality Design magazine as
one of the top 20 innovators in the hospitality industry, Gettys provides
fully integrated architecture, interior design, purchasing, construction
consulting and management consulting services with a sensitivity to the
individual objectives of each client.
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