ROSEMONT, Ill.—First Hospitality Group has assumed management of two hotels in Peoria, Ill.: the well-known Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette and the soon-to-open Courtyard by Marriott Peoria Downtown.
Joseph LoMonaco, a seasoned hotel, resort, and convention center manager who ran the Embassy Suites East Peoria from 2007-2010, will serve as the managing director for both the Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette and the Courtyard by Marriott Peoria Downtown.
“Our approach to hotel management is to focus on our people. We offer extensive training and development opportunities, recognize performance, encourage community activism, and empower our associates to make decisions that positively impact guests’ experiences,” said First Hospitality Group President and COO Robert Habeeb. “In Peoria, we’ve built a first-rate leadership team with extensive knowledge of the local market that we know will hit the ground running at these hotels.”
The 10-story, 286-room Marriott Pere Marquette, which offers 18,840-square-feet of meeting space, first opened in 1926 and took its name from French explorer Father Jacques Marquette. The hotel, and some of its prominent neighbors including the Madison Theatre (directly across the street) and Peoria City Hall (half block away) are all on the National Register of Historic Places and together showcase the rich architectural history of Peoria.
After recently undergoing extensive renovations that involved updating the guestrooms and ballrooms as well as redesigning the lobby, the Marriott Pere Marquette hosted a grand reopening in June 2013.
The newly built Marriott Courtyard by Marriott Peoria Downtown hotel features 116 guestrooms and suites that combine comfort with functionality, a 50-person conference room, a large fitness center, and an indoor pool.
“The City of Peoria has played a major role in the development of this hotel conference center, supporting both the renovation of the Pere and the construction of the Courtyard,” Habeeb added.
Upon the opening of the Courtyard in July 2014, the Marriott properties will be linked via a shared skywalk that connects at the city’s Civic Center, an entertainment and convention venue that contributes significantly to the downtown Peoria economy. Located in the heart of downtown Peoria, the two hotels are within walking distance of Caterpillar World Headquarters, just minutes from Bradley University, the Peoria Riverfront and all the entertainment the city has to offer.
