The Westin Austin Downtown celebrates Topping Out

MERRILLVILLE, Ind., Nov. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Westin Austin Downtown welcomed clients and guests to downtown Austin today to celebrate the completion of structural construction on the 20-story, 366-room hotel.

The hotel broke ground Aug. 5 and is scheduled to open in June 2015 on the northeast corner of East Fifth Street and San Jacinto Boulevard. The Westin hotel is a joint venture between White Lodging Services Corporation, the Harry Whittington family and REI Real Estate Services, LLC.

Once open, the hotel will be the 21^st White Lodging managed hotel in the Austin area.

"It's very exciting to bring the Westin brand into the heart of downtown market," said Alison Berg, the hotel's director of sales and marketing. "With the Westin brand and our prime location, we are poised for success and have been overwhelmed with the reception from the community, our customers and the city."

Local elected officials, business leaders and representatives from Austin's hospitality industry attended the event adjacent to the site.

Berg said key differentiators for the hotel include its elegant ballrooms as ideal locations for social events, and a rooftop pool and bar located on the hotel's 20^th story which offers commanding views of the city, including the famous 6^th Street entertainment district.

"White Lodging has more hotels in Austin than anywhere else in the country and we are thrilled that another property of theirs is steadily moving forward and making great progress," said Bob Lander. "Additional inventory definitely allows us to better handle the major events that continue to stretch Austin in the area of accommodations. The new state-of-the-art Westin will enable us to continue to grow not only the leisure sector but also our meetings and conventions which remain the strongest economic backbone within our industry."

Located at the center of Austin's lively downtown, the Westin Austin Downtown will be just one and a half blocks from the city's convention center and just footsteps away from vibrant entertainment, important culture and inspiring cuisine. The famous Sixth Street entertainment district is just around the corner. Hotel facilities will include an American regional kitchen and bar, featuring and committed to local, artisan ingredients within a contemporary eclectic design. Also, the hotel will have a fitness center and 15,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting and banquet space. 

In addition to helping meet an ever-growing demand for hotel rooms, the Westin will generate significant economic benefits, including roughly $6.3 million in taxes annually.

The sensory-rich environment at Westin offers a respite from the rigors of travel and sets a welcoming tone.  The Westin brand's innovative programs and instinctive service transform every aspect of a guest's stay into a revitalizing experience. All guestrooms and suites at The Westin Austin Downtown will offer the world-renowned Westin Heavenly® Bed – an oasis of lush sheets, down and a patented pillow-top mattress, which cradles and contours to the body for truly restorative sleep. Guests will revive in the Heavenly® Bath enhanced with the brand's Heavenly® Shower, Heavenly® Robe and White Tea Aloe bath amenities, in-room and high-speed Internet access. The hotel also will offer the Westin brand's signature SuperFoodsRx® menu, which includes nutrient-rich and delicious options to tempt every palate.

Westin Hotels & Resorts, like all brands within Starwood's robust portfolio, is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest® program, which made headlines when it launched in 1999 with a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. SPG® offers members the ability to redeem awards at more resorts, more luxury properties, more European hotels and more golf properties than any other hotel program.  

For more information on Westin Hotels & Resorts, please visit www.westin.com, Facebook or follow Westin on Twitter.

White Lodging Services Corporation - was established in 1985 and is headquartered in Merrillville, Ind. White Lodging is a fully integrated hotel ownership, development and operations company – a recognized leader that has defined and cultivated the ability to achieve consistent, sustainable growth among mid-to large-scale hotels across the country. Its current portfolio consists of more than 160 hotels in 21 states and encompasses representation of the following leading brands: Preferred Hotel Group, Marriott International, Inc., Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Global, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, InterContinental Hotel Group and Carlson Hotels Worldwide. For more information about White Lodging, please visit www.whitelodging.com

About Westin Hotels & Resorts - Westin Hotels & Resorts has been a leader in wellness and hospitality for more than a decade. Today, Westin has 200 hotels and resorts in nearly 40 countries and territories, and is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 1,200 properties in 100 countries and 181,400 employees at its owned and managed properties.  Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands:  St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Meridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and Element®.  The Company boasts one of the industry's leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates.  Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands.  For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

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Contact:
Kathleen Sebastian
Phone: 219.472.2861
Fax: 219.472.2273

SOURCE White Lodging

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