One of the areas where there were higher than expected costs was housekeeping. So they outsourced it and guess what? They did not clean all the rooms and people complained. The housekeeping was brought back in house and things improved. They lucked out as they were able to hire someone to manage housekeeping who had relocated to Peoria and had years of experience in the hotel industry. However, during the time it was outsourced housekeeping left a great deal to be desired.
Regarding the discounted room rates there should be some more clarity provided by Matthews. Does that mean discounting room rates for large groups attending s convention or out of town guests attending a wedding reception there? If so Matthews should have known that before work started in the hotel renovation that it happens or does he mean something else entirely? Many more details are needed. Also, it would interesting to knowv what the annual employee turnover rate is there per year and what are the causes for it? Just saying.I think one area, perhaps,where there was not due dlligence was in the realization how much business OSF generates for this hotel along with the medical college and Bradley. They seem have been taken by surprise by it all. Keep n mind the hotel was mainly redeveloped with CAT in mind. Since that tme CAT took a nose dive and maybe they had to lower the rate to kerp the CAT business. I suspect that is part of the problem but more details on this are absolutely required from Mathews.

@cjsummers : Not long after they re-opened I booked a room for a little over $50 through Priceline.

@billybob :Are you saying OSF generates business for this hotel? It's listed for staff to book for out of town guests as the twelfth choice. That means that you need to call and be denied a room from 11 other hotels before trying the Pere. Mark Twain is listed way above Pere. I can't believe OSF generates a fraction of their occupancy rates per year as they are not a preferred choice dictated by the corporate office.

@lanestar7 From conversations I have had with others guests and some employees there is some hotel business generated by OSF. The hotel often runs their courtesy shuttle to OSF a couple times a day. One time waiting for the elevator we were talking to a man from NIH who was in town for work at OSF. He even gave us his business card. On another visit there was someone from Pfizer. Maybe NIH and Pfizer are paying the bill but they are still there for OSF related work. There are also people from out of town that go to Peoria to see family members at OSF. They love the idea of the hotel shuttle van going there. That is another story because some of those people fly into Peoria and with the hotel shuttle van they dont need to rent a car because the van picks them up at the airport and takes them to OSF. The problem is that the lack restaurants near the hotel for dinner so they just eat at OSF cafeteria. All of it seems to have caught the hotel off guard. In the case of NIH, Marriott headquarters is just about walking distance from NIH. In fact Marriott headquarters s moving closer to NIH, which is a coincidence. But the fact that NIH generates Marriott business is not a coincidence given the extensive brands. worldwide reach and loyalty program.

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