‘No better time’: Kansas City’s Loews hotel to open soon after COVID-19 delays debut
Kansas City’s new flagship convention hotel will open June 1, months after the coronavirus pandemic delayed its planned April debut, the company announced Thursday.
The long-awaited Loews Kansas City Hotel sits empty at 1515 Wyandotte St. It was set to open April 2, but the company announced in March that wouldn’t happen.
“While our opening plans look a bit different than we had originally anticipated, there is no better time to open our doors and introduce Kansas City to Loews, than when KC prepares to get back to business,” Loews Hotels & Co. said.
The company said the “safety and well-being” of guests and employees would be a top priority. Details regarding “what the opening will look like” will be announced June 1, the company said.
“We want to assure customers, locals and visitors of the continuous efforts we will be making on a daily basis, as well as new measures that have been put in place, in order to provide a welcoming and clean environment at Loews Kansas City Hotel,” the company said.
In lobbying for a new hotel, supporters said Kansas City was lagging in convention business because it didn’t have top-tier accommodations. A new flagship hotel, they argued, would bring visitors and revenue to the city.
The hotel received tax subsidies through tax-increment financing, a portion of the city’s convention and tourism sales tax, and a community improvement district — an additional sales tax levied in the area that’s earmarked for costs.
The hotel’s developers submitted two budgets to the city’s Tax-Increment Financing Commission last year — one reflecting a price tag that had ballooned to $367 million. The company has said the hotel cost $325 million.
Kansas City had to dip into its general fund this year to support the hotel, in part, because convention and tourism sales taxes were declining even before the pandemic. Those fell off a cliff in March, according to city budget officials.
And the coming months don’t bode well for the city’s convention business. Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the U.S., groups have canceled 78 gatherings in Kansas City.
One of the largest annual conventions, the Cerner Health Conference, has been moved online. Shriners International has canceled its July convention in Kansas City. It was the first major gathering announced after the hotel deal was approved.
