When the clock struck midnight Wednesday the Howard Johnson Hotel, 525 W. Johnson St., officially became the Double Tree Hotel, part of the Hilton chain. Although the ownership, management and staff will remain the same, there has been and will be other changes in addition to the name.
As a result of Howard Johnson's franchise agreement expiring, the ownership of 32 years decided to upgrade from a mid-scale to a more upscale brand. With this upgrade the ownership hopes to draw a more corporate clientele. It also hopes to attract both alumni and the parents of UW-Madison students on the weekends.
General Manager Tom Ziarnick noted that $3 million in renovations have already been made. He said major changes in the rooms can be seen. The changes include new decorations, comforters and luxurious linens. Ziarnick said this is an \exciting time."" Tom Addison, a guest checking out, reported, ""the rooms were pretty nice. They were nicely decorated and comfortable.""
Front desk representative Caitlin Fitzpatrick, a UW-Madison junior, said the only changes she has noticed so far with the name change are the new physical surroundings, confusion old customers have with the name switch and converting the computers. Fitzpatrick has not yet noticed a major change in the clientele.
However, Fitzgerald said, ""We are just going through this now. There could be more changes.""
