HRM students offer visions of how to replace and upscale the Regency Hotel for Senior Capstone
Teams of University of Missouri hotel and restaurant management students offered some grandiose visions of how to replace and upscale the Regency Hotel on Broadway.
As a semester-long capstone course, each team had to develop a concept for a new hotel and restaurant complex where the Regency now stands along with the option of using some adjoining properties.
The names and concepts varied. Price tags for construction and operating costs reached $22 million. Most of the concepts called for demolishing the existing 120-room structure and starting from scratch.
One concept called the Winchester would feature 96 condominiums for sale and rent. Sales price range is $300,000 per 1,300 square foot condo, said Justin Wells, senior from Cape Girardeau. Skywalks would lead to a pool, restaurant, and recreation center and meeting facility.
Hotel Verde would be the city's first green hotel. It would feature environmentally sound amenities such as organic cotton sheets, bamboo floors, solar panels and even natural skin care products by Burt's Bees. Its Harvest Restaurant would feature an organic food menu.
The 80-room, six-story Galaxy Inn and Suites would be topped off with a glass enclosed Luna Restaurant and Moonlight Bar. Each room would have a large window and balcony, said Scott Rapplean of St. Louis. Target clientele, like with most of the others, is the business traveler.
The Luxus Hotel would cater to high-end users. Its proposed amenities include large HD TV's in every room and suite, iPod decking system, touch screen remote system, and Bordeaux 1,000 thread count satin sheets.
"The assignment was to develop a complete business plan for a hospitality complex," said James Grove, class professor.
At minimum they must have a hotel, a restaurant and beverage outlet. The capstone course is a culmination of their studies and the business plan includes everything from lobby and room design to restaurant menus to an operations plan including staffing, he said.
Mike Ebert, Regency owner, worked with the students in developing their concepts and providing financial advice.
"I think they did a great job and their concepts are what Columbia really does need, a higher-end type hotel located in our central district," he said. "It would be wonderful for downtown."
