Feb. 20--Bob Hope, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Sammy Davis Jr. all slept there. But these days, one of the city's most historic hotels is courting a different type of high-profile guest: the savvy business traveler. 

With the Radisson name now on its awning and more meeting space under its roof, the 75-year-old hotel formerly known as the Warwick hopes to find its 21st century niche in Philadelphia's competitive hotel market. 

"We'll blend the boutique nature of the hotel with history and personalized service," said Frank Klare, its general manager. "We'll talk to our guests and get to know what kind of pillows they like and computers they use." 

For most of the last 20 years, the hotel, at 17th and Locust streets, had more apartments than hotel rooms. 

Then, in 1997, more than 200 full-time residents were asked to leave -- and two years later, all the apartments in the 22-story building had been transformed into hotel rooms in a $15-million facelift. 

With occupancy rates plunging and the economy teetering, hotel executives last year considered re-converting some rooms to apartments. 

Instead, it teamed up with a nationally known hotel chain. 

Now named the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel, its focus is on corporate meetings and conference business, Klare said. By the end of the year, the 545-room hotel intends to spend $5 million to add 3,000 square feet of meeting space to the existing 15,000 square feet. 

Brandishing the Radisson name is a positive step, said local hotel analyst Peter R. Tyson, of Horwath Horizon Hospitality Advisors L.L.C. in Kennett Square. "People can hear the name and picture something in their mind." 

The affiliation also increases the hotel's reach, with guests now able to learn of the hotel through Radisson's central reservation system. Previously, it had no nationwide affiliation. 

The Radisson's partner in the deal is Apollo Real Estate Advisors Inc., the New York investment firm that bought the Warwick in 1999. 

Among other renovations in the works: replacement of more than 700 windows; a new hotel awning; and new lobby furniture. 

"We're going to bring back a classical look to a grand lobby," said Klare, part of the hotel's new management team and previously general manager at the Radisson Hotel Narita Airport in Tokyo. 

Even so, Klare's hopes for reviving the hotel remain modest, for now. He says the goal this year is to reach 55 percent occupancy -- about 10 percentage points below what the industry regards as a break-even point. 

Besides the drop in business after Sept. 11, almost all Center City hotels continue to have problems keeping their rooms occupied because the supply far exceeds demand. 

Last year, average occupancy rates in Center City sank to 60.2 percent from 63.6 percent the previous year, according to Smith Travel Research. 

The Warwick is especially challenged because of its location: Most convention-goers stay at one of the 13 hotels that are closer than the Warwick to the Convention Center, at 12th and Arch Streets. 

Klare says the Warwick gets convention business only from meetings with more than 5,500 attendees. Seven such conventions are scheduled this year. 

Radisson's portfolio consists of 430 properties in 60 countries. Radisson operates three other Philadelphia area hotels: the Twelve Caesars on City Line Avenue; the Radisson Valley Forge and the Radisson Mount Laurel. 

Radisson Hotels is a division of Carlson Cos., of Minneapolis. Other divisions include T.G.I. Friday's restaurants, Country Inns & Suites, and Park Plaza and Park Inn hotels. 

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(c) 2002, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.