A new general manager, a new management company and the completion of extensive renovations are all in store for the Sheraton Universal in coming weeks. On Aug. 20, Destination Hotels & Resorts, which purchased the hotel in January of 2007 for $122 million, is transferring management of the hotel. Formerly run by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the Sheraton will now be managed by DH & R;, making the hotel a franchise property and Starwood a franchise partner, according to DH & R; Senior Vice President Mark Hickey. With the change in operators, comes a new general manager, to be formally announced shortly. Hickey issued a statement to the Business Journal about the management changes at the Sheraton Universal. “DH & R; is a leader in the management and repositioning of upscale and luxury hotels and resorts, and is very pleased to assume management of the Sheraton Universal and spearheading the completion of a more than $30 million renovation and repositioning effort to fully restore this iconic hotel,” Hickey stated. DH & R; is the fourth largest independent hospitality management company in the United States. According to Hickey, the company looks forward to embracing Sheraton’s brand standards and integrating employees at the Universal site into DH & R;’s culture and guiding principles. “The DH & R; mission is to ensure that we are stewards of this historic hotel,” Hickey stated. — Nadra Kareem
