Major renovation planned for Galt House Hotel

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Louisville's hotel building boom isn't just for new properties. One old, familiar name is about to spend millions on a big 21st century update.

The Galt House has been a downtown mainstay since 1972.

Its owners announced Thursday they are becoming a branding partner with the Wyndham Hotel Group. They said they are making "unprecedented" recruitment efforts, revitalizing their brand and renovating the building.

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Renderings show small details will be a big part of the $80 million hotel renovation.

"We know that legends are not made overnight," Scott Shoenberger, president and CEO of the Al J. Schneider Co., said.

Shoenberger said project leaders understand that. The group is taking a local approach, from re-designing its rooms and public spaces, to adding new mattresses. It's a needed makeover for the more than 1,300 room hotel in downtown Louisville.

"So many things have taken place at the Galt House over the years," Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said. "The Galt is quite literally the heart of Louisville."

And that local landmark is about to get some major support from a business that operates around the globe.

"This affiliation will enable the Galt House to reward loyalty on a worldwide basis," Shoenberger said.

The hotel is joining the Trademark Collection by Wyndham. It's a group of nearly 70 hotels of which the Galt House will be the flagship. The group will provide operational support, as well as sales and marketing help.

"This is an independent hotel," Chip Ohlsson, the Chief Development Officer of the North American Division of the Wyndham Hotel Group, said. "We are not taking that away from this community at all. All we're going to try to do is try to enhance and drive it to the next level."

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The partnership has been hammered out over the past year. Wyndham executives said they find Louisville attractive because of the businesses that call the city home and the growing leisure market.

"All of those combined make this an unique market about to explode," Ohlsson said.

It's a boom hotel owners are actively anticipating by making sure they're competitive when the time comes.

Renovations on the Galt House will begin in June. They're estimated to be completed by early 2020.

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