Fairmont Pittsburgh to open despite hotel boom lull
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_673615.html
Downtown's newest hotel -- the 185-room Fairmont Pittsburgh -- will open for business Monday, while several other area hotel projects have been delayed or abandoned.
The Fairmont, located within the new Three PNC Plaza, will begin accepting at least 60 guests who were registered as of Friday, following opening ceremonies that will include city and county leaders along with representatives of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
A hotel boom -- in which at least 21 projects have been planned or opened in the area since 2004 -- could be stalling after several years of growth. Economic development officials say financing is harder to obtain, with lenders requiring up to 40 percent equity from hotel developers because of tight credit during the recession.