Jan. 14, 2005 --The Hotel Bethlehem will end its five-year affiliation with the Radisson chain on April 1, doing business instead as an independent hotel.

The business' managing partner said the 83-year-old Main Street building will be marketed as a historic hotel.

However, the owner of one local travel company wondered how well the hotel will fare without a national hotel company and its reservations system.

Bruce Haines, managing partner of the 11-member Christmas City Hotel partnership, said in a news conference Thursday that the hotel would become an affiliate of Historic Hotels of America, a Washington, D.C., group that guides history lovers to memorable spots.

"Our affiliation with Radisson has been a positive one, particularly after the hotel was vacant for two years," Haines said, referring to the two years before his group bought it in 1999. "Now we are very excited to take another important step."

Haines said the group would spend $1 million over two years renovating its 128 guest rooms, which have been 60 percent occupied annually.

Other hotels affiliated with Historic Hotels of America include Nittany Lion Inn in State College; Hotel Hershey; Nassau Inn, Princeton, N.J., and the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg, Va.

"History is the one element each of the 213 member hotels share," said Thierry Roch, executive director of the group.

Some nearby things that history lovers might want to see include Moravian College and the shutdown Bethlehem Steel, which built the hotel and owned it for 62 years.

"It seems to be an aid for them to be affiliated with a group involved with preservation of old hotel properties," said Thomas Graves, an industry analyst with Standard & Poor's in New York. "But I don't see any reason why they would have to give up Radisson to do that.

"If you look at the list of Historic Hotels of America, the Fontainbleau Hilton Resort of Miami Beach has remained a Hilton. But in this case, the hotel in Bethlehem may be looking to become more independent."

The Radisson Hotel Bethlehem will return to its traditional name, Hotel Bethlehem.

"This move will align the Hotel Bethlehem with many of the 213 Historic Hotels of America member hotels that are operated without a national chain affiliation," Haines said.

In the short term, part of Radisson's deal to affiliate with the Hotel Bethlehem five years ago required that the hotel upgrade its bathrooms. Despite annual reminders from Radisson to abide by the deal, the Hotel Bethlehem has not upgraded the bathrooms. But Radisson and Hotel Bethlehem officials Thursday said that was not the reason behind the split.

In fact, Haines said the Hotel Bethlehem plans to refurbish the bathrooms, in 2006, as part the hotel upgrade that will include new carpeting, bedding, wireless Internet access and the addition of a guest business center.

Bob Buessing, owner of East Coast Tours in Forks Township, questioned how losing the Radisson affiliation -- and the national reservation system that comes with it -- could be reason for celebration. Buessing, who booked 57 buses into downtown Bethlehem in December, said many frequent travelers book rooms by calling their preferred national hotelier.

"I really hope this works out for them, but I have to question how people are going to find them," Buessing said. "I'd be concerned about losing an affiliation and not replacing it with another national flag."

Haines said he expects business to go up.

While he acknowledged that 30 percent of the hotel Bethlehem's reservation have comes through the Radisson booking system, he said that number is artificially high because even local callers are routed through the Radisson 1-800 number.

He estimated that only 3 to 4 percent of the people who stay in Bethlehem were specifically in search of a Radisson Hotel.

Haines said the Historic Hotels of America, which will now handle all Hotel Bethlehem reservations, caters more to the type of upscale leisure travelers who favor older, more elegant hotels.

Mayor John Callahan said the loss of the Radisson affiliation doesn't worry him.

"The Radisson flag served its purpose, but it always seemed out of place with the Hotel Bethlehem," Callahan said. "The Hotel Bethlehem is much more in line with the Waldorf-Astoria, the Nittany Lion Inn, the Nassau Inn and the other hotels in the Historic Hotels of America. I'm proud to have a hotel of that stature in our downtown."

But there's no question why Haines is so enamored with the property. He's a former U.S. Steel executive who has been able to revive a property commissioned by legendary Bethlehem Steel chairman Charles M. Schwab.

When John F. Kennedy was on the campaign trail in 1960, he visited the Hotel Bethlehem. So did former United Nations Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Richard Nixon's running mate when he was campaigning against Kennedy.

Schwab, who had stayed in the best hotels from New York to Monte Carlo, believed Bethlehem deserved the best, so he battled to build the Hotel Bethlehem.

Eight years ago, when the building was about to be turned into luxury apartments for retirees and then was shut down, Haines decided he should take action.

"I couldn't let it happen," Haines said. "But we really needed a crutch to get the hotel going again and bringing in guests. We really needed the Radisson affiliation.

"Now we don't need that crutch. I think we're appealing as the Hotel Bethlehem, as we had been for so many years."

By Dan Shope and Matt Assad

-----To see more of The Morning Call, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.mcall.com.

(c) 2005, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail [email protected].