OMAHA, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — The Berkie brigade converging in Omaha this weekend will see a vastly different landscape — more downtown apartments, a multimillion-dollar riverfront parks makeover and, notably, a bigger assortment of hotels.
Indeed, in the city’s urban core alone, about 600 new hotel rooms have opened since the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting was last held live three years ago in the hometown of CEO Warren Buffett.
Those new units, which make up much of the 5% net increase in metro area hotel rooms over the past five years, come in various forms: elegant, vintage, converted from office space. One hotel property bears the name of a falcon; another a tree.
Perhaps the most remarkable nugget about lodging at this time, though, is the number of hotel rooms that will be empty during the Berkshire extravaganza. Industry experts attribute the unusual occurrence to lingering travel restrictions and pandemic precautions — along with the added supply.
“In the past, pre-COVID, we were 100% sold out, booked, ready to go essentially by the start of the year,” said Tim Darby, general manager of the downtown Magnolia boutique hotel. “Not the case this year.”
Hotels rebounding
But even as some hotels are not bursting at the seams for the event based at the downtown CHI Health Center, many hospitality leaders are optimistic that the worst is behind them.
STR, which provides hotel data for Douglas County, predicts that 2022 will be just shy of pre-pandemic numbers, reaching 57.8% occupancy compared to 58.6% in 2019. Furthermore, the trend-tracker predicts that county hotel revenue will total $245 million, surpassing 2019 by $26 million.
Hoteliers say they still struggle fiercely with inflation, rising labor costs and worker shortages. The Magnolia, for example, will make do with about 60% of its typical support crew during this year’s Berkshire activities, paying plenty of overtime.
If it lasted a week or two, we’d have some awfully tired people,” said Darby.
Relative to past Berkshire shareholder meetings — which have drawn up to 40,000 people from across the globe — lodging this year isn’t as scarce, said Deborah Ward, executive director of Visit Omaha, the agency that promotes tourism.
She said about 15 hotels had availability a week leading up to what’s known as the Woodstock of Capitalism.
Two weeks ago, 30 properties in the county had vacancies.
International contingent is thinner
Many out-of-towners, she said, may not yet be comfortable with traveling or large crowds. And Berkshire fans are able to tune in from a distance, as Saturday’s main business meeting is live-streamed. Guests who do attend must prove they’ve been vaccinated.
At the recently opened Indigo hotel at 19th and Dodge Streets, the 90 rooms are about 80% full, said sales and marketing director Dan Koziol.
Koziol used to work at a Regency-area hotel near Berkshire-owned jeweler Borsheims, which got lots of traffic during the shareholder weekend. He believes that COVID-related travel restrictions have cut back on global travelers, as he’s not seeing the usual international contingent, especially from China.
Like other hotels, the Indigo still was able to command higher prices from the Berkshire following. Koziol said a more typical night at the historic structure would cost about $169, compared to about $549 for this weekend. And those rates are without featured amenities still in the making: a speakeasy bar and restaurant.
To be sure, several downtown hotels report a full house for the event covered heavily by news media — not only for the popular Q-and-A led by 91-year-old Buffett, but for colorful spectacles such as the Berkeyville shopping extravaganza. (That’s the convention center filled with jewels, shoes and other wares sold by Berkshire affiliated companies at a discount to shareholders.)
At the 89-room Peregrine, a Hilton Curio property that opened a year ago near 18th and Douglas Streets, all weekend spots have been booked up for a month.
Chocolates for buttons
General manager David Scott said the final few reservations went for nearly $900 a night, up from the regular $250. If guests reserved early for this weekend, they paid about $500 to $600, he said.
Rooms this weekend at the newly renovated Hotel Deco at 15th and Harney Streets also are full and have been since the start of the year, said spokesman Josh Houston.
He said staff now are busy preparing special bling for guests, including champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries upon arrival. On their beds, visitors will find a towel shaped like a tuxedo shirt with gold chocolates for buttons.
For the Farnam, a boutique hotel that borders downtown’s overhauled Gene Leahy Mall, hotel rooms are as full as reservations for its onsite restaurants.
Owner Jason Fisher considers this weekend the “first big stage” for the property that’s part of the Marriott Autograph Collection and opened last May.
Just a ‘snapshot in time’
“You’ve got a diverse crowd from all over the world, and we want to showcase all that is Omaha,” he said. Guests will be treated to a goodie bag of Berkshire souvenirs including a magnet with Buffet quotes, Cherry Coke and See’s candies.
Farther west of downtown, at the midtown Home2 Suites by Hilton, owner Dan Marak said he still has rooms available.
He expects last-minute check-ins, but even if the property that opened in 2020 does not fill up, Marak said he is optimistic about future activity. He owns a dozen hotel properties in the area.
“This is a snapshot in time,” said Marak of MH Hospitality. “Yes, it’s a great weekend, but it’s not the reason we’re in Omaha. We see this as an economy that is a steady performer.”
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
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