From Crains through Google NEWS

The Pontchartrain becomes Crowne Plaza

The former Pontchartrain Hotel in Detroit has picked up the Crowne Plaza flag.

Bookings for the hotel can be made starting in July through the Crowne Plaza brand, a division of Atlanta-based InterContinental Hotels Group, said IHG communications specialist Caroline Sanfilippo.

In August, the hotel was renamed Detroit Riverside Hotel after the Sheraton franchise broke ties with the property's ownership group, Boca Raton, Fla.-based Shubh Hotels L.L.C.

Ownership spent $35 million in renovations before reopening the 367-room property in 2007 under the Sheraton flag.

Changes planned for the hotel include a staff-training program to make customers' stays more restful and a comprehensive program to offer more services to small meetings, said Sanfilippo.

It remains a franchised hotel, she said, so any additional capital improvements will be paid by the ownership group.

— Daniel Duggan



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