“The Dayton Hotel is only there in the middle part of it,” Makan said Wednesday.
He estimates he will invest “at least” $3 million to $4 million in renovating the hotel off Interstate 75. Makan bought the property for $1.8 million about a month ago, and a new sign was raised Tuesday.
A website by the hotel's new name is up and accepting reservations, even as renovation work continues.
Makan termed what is happening now just a “soft opening” before the hotel is re-branded. He wasn’t sure which brand that will be, but he thought the transition might take at least six months, perhaps more.
The hotel houses 231 rooms, three banquet rooms, a pool, a bar and space for a restaurant.
Here’s an edited transcript of a phone conversation we had with Makan Wednesday:
Q: When will you move to identification with a franchise?
Makan: "We want to change the condition of the hotel first by taking care of all the renovation it's going to need.
“We’re going to go with a franchise in a short period, to another brand. We’re going to actually have a brand there, a franchise brand. We don’t know yet who we’re going to go with. It could be a Radisson or a Doubletree.
“We want to change the condition of the hotel first by taking care of all the renovations that it’s going to need.”
Q: What did it take to buy the hotel?
Makan: "We took it over from Mike Heitz (a Lexington, Ky.-based investor and a principal with Garrett LLC who has worked with Dayton properties in the past). We operate other hotels in California and places like that. Mike saw our operations; he came down to California …
“We have Country Inn & Suites by Carlson out here (in San Bernadino, Calif.). He saw that operation.”
Q: What renovation work are you doing with The Hotel Dayton now?
Makan: "We're going to do a lot of renovation out there, starting with the roof and other things. And then the parking lot and everything.
“Plus, we’re going to turn this into almost an eco-friendly hotel. We’re going to create energy for power, for the electric itself, so it will be self-sustained.
“So we’re hoping to be off the grid. We should be creating our own power there.
“We don’t want to jump in and not have everything ready. The roof will take a little bit of time because of your weather. So once that is really done … then I will go in and start renovating the rooms.”
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