Delta Chelsea no more: Delta chain removes name from cityâ??s largest hotel

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

After a 37-year association, Delta Hotels and Resorts is taking its name off the cityâ??s largest hotel, in pursuit of four-star status elsewhere.
The decision to remove the Delta brand from the Delta Chelsea Hotel as of July 1, 2013, was described by company officials as necessary to renovate and update all of its properties to a more modernized image.
â??With the Delta Chelsea we had a long relationship, and weâ??re very proud we managed that property for so many years,â? said Ken Greene, CEO of Delta Hotels and Resorts. â??We managed that property extremely well on behalf of the owners, but the Chelsea in its current condition really represents what Delta was, not what Delta is.â?
[INDENT]The Chelsea in its current condition really represents what Delta was, not what Delta is
[/INDENT] The 1,590-room hotel at Gerrard and Yonge streets is undergoing some renovations of its own, such as upgrades to the corridors and select guest rooms.
But those changes arenâ??t enough to meet the requirements of Deltaâ??s remodelling. Once Delta leaves next summer, management of the hotel will go to Langham Hospitality Group, a subsidiary of property owners Great Eagle Holdings Ltd.
â??All the current employees will continue to be retained by the new management at The Chelsea,â? Brett Butcher, CEO of Langham Hospitality Group said in a news release.
â??We are strongly committed to all the colleagues at the hotel and we welcome the existing team to the Langham family.â?
The hotel will be renamed The Chelsea Toronto, but that doesnâ??t mean that Delta is leaving town. A new 45-storey flagship hotel going up at Lower Simcoe Street and Bremner Boulevard will open in the fourth quarter of 2014. Construction began in November 2010 and it currently stands 12 storeys tall.
[INDENT]Weâ??re going through a strategic repositioning
[/INDENT] The new Delta Hotel is expected to include modern amenities such as plug-ins for mobile devices and big screen TVs that allow guests to Skype with distant colleagues. It will connect to Union Station, the PATH system, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the ACC.
But its late 2014 opening date leaves a sizable gap in operations for the company in Toronto. Up to 18 months will pass between when Delta severs ties with Great Eagle Holdings and when the doors of its new flagship building open. That gap could translate into a significant loss in revenue.
â??Most companies probably wouldnâ??t do it, but of course weâ??re going through a strategic repositioning,â? Mr. Greene said.
â??We thought it was important for us to put some distance between the two because it is definitely going to be a different consumer experience.
â??In the short term itâ??s definitely an investment weâ??re making by walking away from a revenue stream.â?


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