View Full Version : Omni Hotel Damage Update
Dave Campbell
21-03-2008, 16:00
:( Looks like the Omni at CNN won't be able to house any teams for the Championship Event ...from FIRST e-mail....
"The Omni Hotel suffered significant damage due to the tornado. As a result, FIRST has been advised that all team rooms booked at the Omni will not be available for occupancy during the Championship.
Steele Meetings, FIRST's hotel management company, is currently working to find alternative lodging arrangements for those teams who booked rooms at the Omni Hotel. We are seeking alternative arrangements which provide comparable quality, location, and cost. Due to limited availability, in some instances rates may be higher or lower. "
Look for Team leaders and travel contacts to get new arrangements from Steele Meetings if you booked through them. If you made your own arrangements time to contact the hotels directly!
http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/15613969/detail.html
Looks like the Omni did get hit badly. Hope it gets repaired soon...
galewind
21-03-2008, 16:39
we're re-booking -- they're not pulling our legs -- I got a similar e-mail.
sanddrag
21-03-2008, 16:53
How was this message communicated? I see nothing of the sort on FIRST's website or in their own e-mail blast archive.
Elgin Clock
21-03-2008, 17:01
It was probably sent out to only the teams registered to stay at the Omni.
I heard about it a couple of hours ago from a teammate right before I saw this thread.
The thing that strikes me odd in all of this, is that a lot of the rooms in the main portion of the Omni face in towards the CNN center and I'm shocked this announcement came before an announcement was made about the Westin (if they are going to make one which is yet to be seen) where every room faces outward towards the street & where windows would of been more prone to be blown out... and actually were going by some pictures I've seen of missing windows and curtains hanging out of windows.
Kind of odd.
None the less, we are one of the teams that will have to deal with this new turn of events.
Never a dull moment while attending The Championship Event that's for sure.
JohnBoucher
21-03-2008, 17:37
237 is now at the Hilton
ajisjesus
21-03-2008, 18:02
I was just watching cnn.com to get some sort of damage assesment... the area where cnn and the omni are does not look good... some of the neighborhoods area have been flattened though... for those of us who are going to nationals and havent booked somewhere yet id say get on it because the omni is not the only hotel that has suffered serious damage..
good luck and i hope the city of Atlanta can overcome this tragedy rapidly
Protronie
21-03-2008, 18:20
good luck and i hope the city of Atlanta can overcome this tragedy rapidly
If it can recovery from Sherman and his yankees, not to mention hosting the Olympics I'm pretty sure it can overcome a simple tornado.
My concern is... can it handle FIRST? :D
Good luck finding rooms to the teams effected. :cool:
No fun! I was really looking forward to staying at the Omni this year :(
Those darn natural disasters! (I still hope everything/everyone up there will be okay)
JohnBoucher
21-03-2008, 18:43
Steele is being very good about relocating teams. Give them a call. There are rooms available.
ajisjesus
21-03-2008, 18:47
My concern is... can it handle FIRST? :D
NOBODY CAN HANDLE FIRST!!!! ITS JUST TOO EPIC!!!!! lol
...but i must say Atlanta has done a very good job for the past few years... Last year when we walked out on the Georgia Dome floor for the first time our whole team was amazed and to see so many people screaming.... it was awesome :cool:
A Friend sent me this photo of the Atlanta Tornado.
artdutra04
22-03-2008, 04:19
The thing that strikes me odd in all of this, is that a lot of the rooms in the main portion of the Omni face in towards the CNN center and I'm shocked this announcement came before an announcement was made about the Westin (if they are going to make one which is yet to be seen) where every room faces outward towards the street & where windows would of been more prone to be blown out... and actually were going by some pictures I've seen of missing windows and curtains hanging out of windows.467 hotel rooms at the Omni Hotel were damaged or destroyed during the tornado.
Only 15 rooms at the Westin suffered broken windows.
GaryVoshol
22-03-2008, 07:39
The thing that strikes me odd in all of this, is that a lot of the rooms in the main portion of the Omni face in towards the CNN center and I'm shocked this announcement came before an announcement was made about the Westin (if they are going to make one which is yet to be seen) where every room faces outward towards the street & where windows would of been more prone to be blown out... and actually were going by some pictures I've seen of missing windows and curtains hanging out of windows.
You're not a Midwest boy, are you Elgin? Tornadoes can be very fickle - far less predictable than all the electronics on all the fields and robots in FRC combined. :) Where one house is destroyed, the one next door only loses a few shingles.
A Friend sent me this photo of the Atlanta Tornado.
Careful with these kinds of things - they get photoshopped (a verb!) and sent around on the internet all the time. There's nothing on snopes about it yet, but that's not to say if it wasn't doctored (can't prove a negative).
Steve S.
22-03-2008, 08:34
467 hotel rooms at the Omni Hotel were damaged or destroyed during the tornado.
Only 15 rooms at the Westin suffered broken windows.
Only 178 rooms were damaged at the Omni :p
170 in the south tower, 8 in the north, its just that they have closed the south tower to minimize disruption while getting everything repaired :cool:
Nuttyman54
22-03-2008, 10:01
A Friend sent me this photo of the Atlanta Tornado.
Looks like an HDR (High Dynamic Range) pic. Gorgeous!
On topic, Team 190 had booked the Omni, and will be moving to either the Marriott or the Hilton.
Only 178 rooms were damaged at the Omni :p
170 in the south tower, 8 in the north, its just that they have closed the south tower to minimize disruption while getting everything repaired :cool:
Hmm, even the email I got from the Westin (copied from a Vistors Center Guy I think) said that Omni has 400+ rooms with some sort of damage.
Careful with these kinds of things - they get photoshopped (a verb!) and sent around on the internet all the time. There's nothing on snopes about it yet, but that's not to say if it wasn't doctored (can't prove a negative).
there's definitely somethign fishy about the clouds. it's an amazing image, real or fake though.
Al Skierkiewicz
22-03-2008, 20:13
We received word that the Omni cannot host any teams. 111 has been relocated to the Hyatt.
A friend I know who works at CNN said that they received only 5 minutes warning to vacate while she was on duty. After the tornado came through, the food court was reported to have 8 inches of water. With that kind of damage, problems with infrastructure is likely as well. There may be other problems besides damaged rooms. Something as simple as no laundry could keep a hotel from allowing occupancy.
notaPINKtruck
23-03-2008, 01:25
233 has been relocated to the Hyatt as well!
We can't wait to rock out in Hotlanta!
Careful with these kinds of things - they get photoshopped (a verb!) and sent around on the internet all the time. There's nothing on snopes about it yet, but that's not to say if it wasn't doctored (can't prove a negative).
It's legit. I saw it on the Weather Channel sometime last week.
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