The new hotel is a partnership between UD and the Shaner Hotel Group, which also is managing the University’s Conference Services, providing key marketing and management support. Under the terms of the partnership, the University is the majority owner of the hotel. William Sullivan, the hotel’s managing director, is a certified hospitality technology professional.

The Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware, which opened to guests in November, offers overnight accommodations for those attending conferences at Clayton Hall and for parents and other visitors to campus, as well as banquet and meeting space for guests and for those UD students completing a semester-long practicum in lodging.

Special features include an indoor pool, whirlpool, fitness center and a restaurant with a breakfast buffet and dinner service. The guest rooms combine comfort with functionality and are designed with a user-friendly workspace for business travelers, featuring high-speed Internet access and two phones with data ports.

In addition to the 126 guest rooms, the Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware has a large meeting room and 2,000 square feet of conference space, as well as access to a 500-seat auditorium, 7,700 square feet of exhibition space and 22 conference and meeting rooms in the adjacent Clayton Hall.

Unlike programs at many other universities, UD students are fully integrated into all facets of running the hotel. Under the supervision of faculty, they will be able to apply their theory courses to managing the hotel and providing real solutions to problems they encounter.
Students assigned to the hotel for a semester will meet for weekly classes in a computerized learning center at the site. The center doubles as a conference room with online meeting capability.

The Marriott Center for Hospitality and Tourism also has been established through a generous grant from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.

The Marriott Center includes the high-tech, flexible classrooms and the experimental guest room at the hotel, where new technology and products will be tested. A state-of-the-art room for lodging-related classes also can be used for delivering educational services to industry professionals. The Center features full video-conferencing and wireless technology capability, as well as Group Systems software.

The Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware is in an ideal location to provide overnight accommodations for those attending conferences at the adjacent Clayton Hall. Such accommodations are particularly in demand during the academic year, when residence halls are not available to house conference participants seeking on-campus lodging.

In addition to the 40,000-square-foot Clayton Hall in Newark, UD Conference Services also operates Arsht Hall and the Goodstay Center in Wilmington and the Virden Retreat Center in Lewes, Delaware.

Shaner Hotel Group is one of the nation’s premier private lodging and management companies. Founded in 1983, the State College, Pa.-based company owns and/or operates 23 hotels in 15 states.