Jun. 26--The Columbus Hilton has been on the market more than two years, but there has been no taker. 

Now its owner, Dallas-based Wyndham International Inc., is taking a different approach. The company has decided to ditch the Hilton franchise and stamp its own brand on downtown's premier, full-service hotel. 

Beginning Aug. 1, the Hilton officially will become the "Wyndham Columbus," company spokeswoman Darcy Brossart said Tuesday. The 20-year-old property is to receive nearly $2 million in renovations, a process that will likely begin in July and take two months to complete. 

"The Hilton franchise agreement is up," Brossart said. "We decided to not sell that property and instead convert it to the Wyndham brand because we really like the Georgia market. We have several throughout the Atlanta area. We thought the renovation would be a perfect complement to the market and we think that the local market will respond favorably to the Wyndham brand." 

The renovation -- more of a refurbishment -- will include installation of high-speed Internet access in each of the Hilton's 177 rooms, as well as in the lobby and meeting areas. Each room will get cordless telephones, new high-end bedding, ergonomic guest chairs and possibly lamps. But new drapes and carpet aren't on the list. 

Most noticeably absent from Wyndham's plans is a possible expansion of the hotel, which is located across Front Avenue from the Columbus Convention & Trade Center. The convention facility began a $30 million expansion this week to add 101,000 square feet of meeting space to its existing 77,000 square feet. The project should be completed by fall 2004. 

"There are no expansion plans at this time," Brossart said bluntly. 

"We just want to get it converted." 

The consensus among city officials and tourism planners is that at least 150 additional rooms are needed downtown to handle the increase in business expected from a larger Trade Center. There now are about 520 rooms at four downtown hotels. 

An expansion of the soon-to-be-Wyndham property has been explored publicly and privately for some time. One group with an interest in the property is Valley Hospitality LLC, a Columbus-based hotel and food service management firm. But the company hasn't been able to work out a deal with Wyndham. 

Valley Hospitality CEO Jack Pezold was out of town Tuesday, and company president Brian Plemmons refused to comment. 

In April, Pezold said the firm was planning to build a hotel with 100-plus rooms near the convention Trade Center, possibly where the existing parking deck sits. Other sites now being tossed around as possibilities for a hotel are the Eagle & Phenix Mill on Front Avenue and the Pillowtex Corp. cotton warehouse on Bay Avenue. 

Peter Bowden, deputy director of the Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau, said an expanded Wyndham property would be preferable as a convention hub. Still, he can live with a refurbished Wyndham and another new large hotel in the vicinity of the Trade Center. Either way, he thinks more rooms will eventually find their way downtown. 

"I think what's going to happen is another investor is going to see a market that's not being tapped, and they'll build what's necessary" to accommodate the Trade Center expansion and the bureau's current marketing campaign geared toward larger, higher-profile groups, Bowden said. 

Larry Campbell, executive director of the Columbus Convention & Trade Center, agrees with the build-it-and-they-will-come scenario. He said hotel chains and developers will see the economic potential behind the facility's expansion. Last year, the Trade Center hosted more than 450 events and 250,000 people. Post-expansion goals are to top 500,000 convention-goers. 

"I haven't given up on something happening from an expansion standpoint or from an additional hotel close by," Campbell said. "This project will take long enough to do that somebody could come in." For now, however, the city will make do with an upscale Wyndham as its downtown convention hub. But just how upscale will the property be under the new flag? 

"That's the question we have asked ourselves," said Bowden, who stayed at a Wyndham in Atlanta last year. 

It was first class all the way, he said, with ultra-comfortable feather beds and outstanding customer service. 

"That's what we're hopeful of here," he said, "is we'll see the same kind of service." 

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(c) 2002, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. PTX, WYN, HLTGY,