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Houston19514

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Everything posted by Houston19514

  1. Houston19514
    Yes. Identical service. I don't know exactly how the BRT will get there. But whatever route they choose for the BRT, the LRT will travel the exact same route when they do the switch. You really should try to read a bit about Metro's plans if you are interested in it. All of your questions have been answered over and over by Metro. Spend some time on their website and you could probably learn quite a lot. FWIW, I would expect most of the BRT routes to switch to LRT by 2020. But I'm just guessing, in part based on the success of the Red Line. (Sorry naysayers, but it's pretty hard to maintain the myth that the Red Line is a dismal failure when it continues to post the numbers it does.)
  2. Houston19514
    I don't know what you are calling twin towers... I'm sure not finding them. ;-)
  3. Houston19514
    Hmmm, just how many sets of twin towers are there currently Uptown? I can think of one residential set (Four Leaf Towers) and one office set (on the east side of the loop). Elsewhere in town I can think of one residential set currently under construction (the Mosaic) and one office set (Pennzoil).
  4. Houston19514
    I presume you meant LRT usually comes in after the BRT. If so, I wonder if you could list some cities where that has occurred. AFAIK, BRT is still a very new concept/technology and has not operated anywhere long enough to have been replaced by LRT. In any event, that is the plan for Houston, as soon as there's sufficient ridership, which I'm guessing will be quite soon.
  5. Houston19514
    CityKid, First, the two "stories" you posted were the same story. Your local TV station just repeated the AP story (or at least part of it) on their website. Second, their statement regarding Houston's rail expansion is, at best, incomplete. Political interference has slowed down the University Line, perhaps. But the rest of the expansion is proceeding apace, with construction to begin very shortly. (Yes, they will initially probably be BRT. But I really don't understand everyone's hangup about BRT. It's a very promising new system and will operate essentially the same as LRT would in those same corridors, just on rubber wheels instead of rails. But either way, you are not going to like it because it's not underground like in that urban paradise in Georgia, so you won't be able to pretend you're in NYC.)
  6. Houston19514
    If a hotel is struggling so badly and is unable to fill its rooms, wouldn't we expect them to take some significant steps to address the problem? Starting with lowering rates to fill the rooms? I am presuming that their substantially lower weekend rates still more than cover their marginal costs; please correct me if that presumption is wrong. If so, it seems that they should be able to generate better cash flow if they lowered their weekday rates in the direction of their weekend rates and filled more rooms. AND, it would seem maybe they would affiliate with a chain. Very wealthy people may have large egos, but most of them don't enjoy writing checks and pouring money down a rat hole, so to speak. Tell me where I am going wrong.
  7. Houston19514
    The problem with all of that, TNJ, is that you ARE wrong. You predicted a veritable bloodbath with multiple closings. It couldn't be much simpler and is clear for all to see. That has not happened. So enjoy being wrong.
  8. Houston19514
    Would love to , but it would take me a while to get there. ;-) (No offense, but I'm not the one who has gotten all snippy and defensive, and wishing for businesses to "commit suicide"...) In summary, you are failing to distinguish between the health of the overall downtown hotel market (which is pretty good) and the health of individual hotels (regarding several of which you have provided anecdotes, but no facts, indicating they may be struggling). As one "in the industry" I am sure you know there are many reasons particular hotels may struggle even when the overall market is good... bad management, failure to affiliate with a chain or national reservation system, bad location within the market, bad marketing... If these hotels (Icon, Alden, Magnolia) are indeed all struggling as badly as you say, one would expect their owners to make some drastic changes, like affiliating with a chain, lowering their weekday rates to a level closer to their weekend rates. (or as TNJ predicted some years ago, close down). And yet, they continue to soldier on, remaining independent, still charging over $200/night (except for the Magnolia) on weekdays... I just can't make sense of it. ;-) And, fwiw, you have probably noticed that the W is part of a major national chain, which would give it a clear leg up on succeeding in the downtown market.
  9. Houston19514
    LOL You clearly don't have a clue about the subject. There is no way imaginable that either the Dallas or Atlanta systems would carry the traffic that Houston's does if they only had 7.5 miles of track. No way. Impossible. Under no circumstances.
  10. Houston19514
    I'm glad you're getting a drink. Seems like you need one...
  11. Houston19514
    FWIW, here are the numbers for the Uptown Houston hotel market: 70.9% occupancy (also down from last year) $137.40 ADR (lower than downtown) With at least one or two additional hotels already under construction or ready to start construction (eg Aloft) Also, FWIW, I think Uptown is the most likely location for a W. But I do not think that necessarily means a W downtown could not be successful.
  12. Houston19514
    They said the whole MARTA system carries 470,000 people per day. That almost certainly is both trains and buses. And Metro carries more than that.
  13. Houston19514
    Don't get snippy with me. Had you read my first postings, you wouldn't have asked who I was referring to in the first place. It wasn't TNJ's comments in this thread I was referring to. I was referring to a discussion we had several years ago, in which he predicted multiple downtown hotel closings. How does that prove your point? The downtown Dallas hotel market was in WORSE shape than downtown Houston several years ago. They've since added the W (and possibly one or two other hotels) and have still improved to the point of being in as good of condition as downtown Houston's hotel market. And this in a downtown that still has extraordinarily high office vacancy rates. If anything, it tends to show that downtown Houston probably COULD handle a W.
  14. Houston19514
    No one is shooting any messengers. I just like more than anecdotes from a friend of a friend of a second cousin's husband, especially when the anecdotes don't really comport with the factual evidence can look up. ;-) Sorry that bothers you. FWIW, the most recent numbers I can find for downtown Houston are for January and February of this year: 62.7% occupancy $169.57 ADR By way of comparison, Downtown Dallas (including Uptown and Victory) was recently reported to have the following hotel numbers: 63.4% occupancy $166.50 ADR (and that includes the W Hotel). Remarkably similar numbers, and they are also down from last year by a similar amount. And that is a market in which several other hotels, including a Ritz-Carlton are about to open, and with a Mandarin Oriental proposed.
  15. Houston19514
    That, and the evidence supporting it is pretty scant.
  16. Houston19514
    Ummmm, since it was posted as a response to New Juniper, I thought it should have been pretty obvious that it was to New Juniper, not to you ;-)
  17. Houston19514
    Great post! Thanks for inserting some actual facts into the discussion.
  18. Houston19514
    I think it's fair to point out that, according to you, a good number of the downtown hotels were supposed to have gone under by now. But, amazingly, not a one has closed.
  19. Houston19514
    Gosh, for some reason I thought you worked for an architecture firm. In any event, the anecdotes you've provided are interesting, but less then compelling. A quick attempt to book rooms during the business week suggests that things aren't quite as gloomy for these establishments as you are portraying (including finding a few weeks where no rooms are available at certain hotels.) From what I have seen, it does appear numbers are done from last year, but at least part of last year had an unnatural bump from Katrina/Rita evacuees. Further, I believe it's safe to say summer is always among the slower times of year.
  20. Houston19514
    I believe the tax abatements were for rehabs of historical buildings into condos, eg. Bayou Lofts has a tax abatement. I don't think it would apply to any new construction.
  21. Houston19514
    Evidence? Source?
  22. Houston19514
    Hmmm. Why so long? Not necessarily disagreeing; I'm just curious why you think it's still that far in the future?
  23. Houston19514
    Well, thanks for that update
  24. Houston19514
    Cool! Thanks.
  25. Houston19514
    Can you give us more specifics on the location? I'm trying to picture where it will be and where their outdoor area will be.
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