Gaylord hopes to raise revenue by raising the bar

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Gaylord hopes to raise revenue by raising the bar

Difficulty in finding local partnerships spurs hotel management to help grow county businesses

by Andy Zieminski | Staff writer

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Hiring a nighttime cleanup crew in Prince George’s County proved to be more difficult than expected for Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center officials.

‘‘We decided, well, maybe there isn’t one large company here, so we would divide the property up,” said Sheldon Suga, general manager of the 2.8 million square-foot building.

Suga said he hired one business, Bradcorp Services Inc. of Hyattsville, to clean the hotel’s administrative and common areas in hopes that meeting the hotel’s large-scale needs can help the cleaning company grow.

Suga said the hotel’s high standards and efforts to help local businesses grow will be an additional benefit to the tourism, revenue and prestige the county will gain once National Harbor, where the hotel serves as an anchor, opens.

‘‘It’s going to take my business to another level,” Bradcorp Services owner Darrell Bradley said. ‘‘I’ve been in business 18 years. It’s an opportunity I’ve been waiting for for 18 years.”

Bradley, who has hired an additional 40 employees — his workforce is now 150 strong, said he hopes the contract will take his business to the next level.

‘‘It’s putting me on that scale. It leaped me up with the larger companies,” he said. ‘‘Now I can put it on my resume. Now I can tell people I’m cleaning the Gaylord hotel.”

Kwasi G. Holman, president and CEO of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corp., said that through the agency’s small business initiative, the county is also aiming to bring small businesses to the level where they can handle the large projects.

‘‘Getting these companies ‘to scale’ is one of the major areas of focus that we have been involved in,” Holman said. ‘‘We hope to have companies that will be prepared to compete for most of the opportunities being created” by National Harbor and Gaylord.

Along with the opportunities the project presents for vendors, Holman and other leaders are expecting money to flow into businesses throughout the county as National Harbor begins attracting tourists and convention-goers.

‘‘Any time you build a project that’s a large venue that attracts people from all over, they’re not just going to stay in one spot. They’re going to bring business to the entire region,” said M.H. ‘‘Jim” Estepp, president and CEO of the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable, a group of business executives who promote economic activity in the county.

‘‘I believe there will be other businesses in the county that will prosper,” he said.

In its first phase, National Harbor will offer 3,000 hotel rooms. Gaylord will have 2,000 rooms, and five other hotels will have the rest. National Harbor also will have 325,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space.

The hope among the county’s business community is that historical and entertainment attractions in Prince George’s will bring new visitors, and that hotels and businesses will spring up nearby to capture overflow from big conventions at Gaylord.

‘‘We in the southern part of the county, we have not been a tourist destination. We have primarily been a bedroom community,” said Ollie Anderson, president of the South County Economic Development Association. ‘‘I believe this is going to attract additional tourists and shoppers to the community. As they say, the rising tide will lift all boats.”

James A. Dula, president and CEO of the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce, said he has spoken in the past few months with a handful of people interested in opening businesses near National Harbor, from restaurants to a day-care center.

‘‘We’re already starting to see businesses that want to open in the area,” he said.

The Oxon Hill Manor, a historic mansion about a mile from National Harbor that can be rented for private functions, has already hosted National Harbor marketing events, said museum manager Joann Heard, who is hoping the museum will continue to attract business from the project.

Gaylord can handle conventions of up to 10,000 people, but National Harbor will have only 4,000 hotel rooms when all the construction is finished, so area hotels will have to pick up the slack, Gaylord spokeswoman Amie Gorrell said.

Days before Gaylord is set to open, the convention center has already booked 1.4 million room nights through 2018, an industry record, Gorrell said.

But with the attractions of Washington and Northern Virginia a quick Metro or water taxi ride away, the county will have to work hard to attract National Harbor visitors who want to escape the complex for a day or two, Estepp said.

‘‘It’s going to be a case of who puts the best package together, how well they market, and how they go after the business,” he said.

National Harbor has not taken steps toward building relationships with specific locations in Prince George’s because the project is still in an early phase, said Rocell Viniard, National Harbor’s marketing director. ‘‘[But] we’re open to having all kinds of discussions,” she said.

The Six Flags amusement park in Largo is one major county attraction hoping to go after National Harbor’s visitors. ‘‘We’re very excited about National Harbor coming to the county in full force, because it brings new opportunities and new people to the county,” said Six Flags spokeswoman Karin Korpowski.

Korpowski said Six Flags and National Harbor officials have talked informally about developing a relationship, but that nothing concrete had been discussed.

‘‘Both parties are very well aware of each other,” she said.

Business leaders said that along with visitors and their dollars, National Harbor will give the county ‘‘an aura that attracts other economic activity.”

‘‘One of the things that has escaped us over the years is having one of these signature regional projects,” Estepp said. ‘‘People begin to take you seriously when you have a project of that size and scope actually coming to fruition.”

National Harbor could be a catalyst for attracting government contractors to Andrews Air Force Base and revitalizing the area, business leaders said. It could also benefit the 6,000-acre Westphalia housing and commercial project being developed just north of the base.

‘‘Eventually I think the county is going to get its fair share,” Estepp said.

E-mail Andy Zieminski atazieminski@gazette.net.

\Retail businesses opening

National Harbor last week announced several retail and dining facilities that will be opening this year.

America: gift shop

Art Whino: art

Bobby McKey’s: bar

Cadillac Ranch: bar and grill

Cake Love

Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante

Erwin Pearl Fashion Jewelry

Fossil: apparel, handbags, etc.