My issue with Autograph Collection is it's such a soft brand that it is inconsistent. Perhaps the most inconsistent of legacy Marriott's brands. There are legitimate 5-star hotels flagged under it and then there hotels that couldn't make it as independent hotels and only affiliated with Marriott because they need higher Revpar.
In this case, if the hotel was legitimately the number one hotel in the market it wouldn't need Marriott's Autograph Collection flag.
This property is managed by First Hospitality Group, which mostly manages limited-service properties. The only full-service Marriott properties it manages are the Renaissance Toledo, Marriot Peoria, Sheraton Suites Chicago–O'Hare and Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection. To me, this is a big red flag. You don't hire a management company with mostly limited-service experience for an upscale or luxury property. Period.
From the First Hospitality Group website:
Built in 1961, the Drake Oak Brook hotel has undergone an extensive renovation to return the hotel to its prior glory. Soon to reopen, this iconic boutique hotel offers classic beauty and rich history to its guests.
https://www.fhginc.com/portfolio
From the Chicago Tribune:
The hotel originally was launched in 1961 as an extension of the Drake Hotel along Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. Offering the same first class hospitality and timeless European style, some notable guests who have treated it as a second home (prized because of the close proximity to the Oak Brook Polo Club and Oak Brook Golf Course and Country Club) include England's Prince Charles, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Kennedy, Rock Hudson and golf legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Millionaire playboy Michael Butler, 90, a member of the family credited as the founders of Oak Brook, also is credited for helping the hotel's elite reputation. Throughout the years, Butler, who as a Broadway producer backed the first theatrical run of "Hair," entertained his famous friends at the Drake Oak Brook. It was hotelier Gino DiRenzo who ran the property from 1962 until 2009 when, according to Nagle, the management fell prey to a Ponzi scheme and the hotel closed for several years.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...919-story.html
The Tribune article goes on to say a Chicago lawyer and investor bought it for $6.5 million in 2013. If you read between the lines, it seems like it was one part vanity and one part a fondness for the hotel's bygone era. You know, someone with money buying a hotel who knows nothing about the hotel industry.
And I quote:
The wallpaper, which the Nagles have restored in every detail, surrounds guests in the elegant Colonial Room, where high tea is served Friday and Saturday afternoons. The tradition of a Sunday champagne brunch is held weekly in the vast dining room which spills onto the Flower Terrace, which features a ceiling covered in illuminated floating glass flowers.
Nagle has worked with his executive chef to re-create the same traditional menu favorites that are also showcased at the Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago, including Oysters Rockefeller and Bookbinders Soup.
Sounds great, but there's probably a very limited market for this kind of hotel. Thus the reason why it is flagging as Autograph Collection.
And then there's this from the hotel's sales director:
Q: What does the future look like for The Drake Oak Brook?
A: We are positioning ourselves to bring fresh energy and Instagrammable moments into indoor and outdoor spaces. Increasing the romance, aura of seclusion, and grand-estate-inspired vibe of the outdoor spaces.
In addition to being "the place" for special occasions of all kinds, the hotel should be known for elevated everyday experiences -- a place where even an overnight business trip or a casual drink at the bar promises something beyond the ordinary.
https://www.dhbusinessledger.com/art...ess/171009594/
In other words, they want the millennials and under-40s as well as business travelers because there just aren't enough old, rich fuddy duddies who play polo and want champagne brunches to keep the hotel profitable during the week.
I wish it luck, but I suspect we will see all the fat and luxury cut by the third-party management company to maximize profit.