After four years as an Omni Hotels franchise, the Omni Los Angeles Hotel & Centre will become an independent operating hotel. The new name of the hotel will be the Wilshire Grand Hotel. The change becomes effective Feb. 1, 1999.

Omni Hotels could not reach mutually agreeable terms for a new licensing agreement with the owners of the Los Angeles hotel that met Omni Hotels growth plans and operating standards.

In 1996, Omni Hotels set itself on a course to become a four-diamond hotel chain with a reputation for superior products and service. To date, Omni Hotels has invested more than three quarters of a billion dollars in its owned and managed hotels to make necessary renovations and upgrades. Company management believes that this “four-diamond vision” is the right path for ensuring the future success of Omni Hotels.

 

“We are currently in a tremendous growth mode with two new hotels under development in Denver and San Francisco and several new hotels coming on line in the coming months,” says Jim Caldwell, president of Omni Hotels. “We are growing the company domestically and we are growing the company internationally. In keeping with our business strategy, our growth will be selective. While we will continue adding four-diamond hotels to our portfolio, hotels not meeting current Omni Hotels standards may not be reinstated.”

 

Caldwell added that Omni Hotels is committed to seeking out hotel opportunities that fulfill the companys business strategy and hotel partners who share the companys vision.

 

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Omni Hotels is a privately owned chain of 42 first-class and luxury hotels and resorts located throughout the United States and Mexico. Omni Hotels properties offer four-diamond services ranging from gourmet dining, fitness facilities, tennis, golf, wine tastings, tours of local attractions, music festivals and children’s activities. Omni Hotels will continue an aggressive agenda for expansion in North America and internationally. For more information on Omni Hotels, call 1-800-THE-OMNI or visit the company Web site at www.omnihotels.com.

 

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