`A little more luxury`

SPONSORED CONTENT | OMAHA WORLD-HERALD | SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2015 | 7A
Experience
the renewal
On Aug. 13, the Arbor Day Foundation officially opened its
revitalized Lied Lodge, which underwent a $9 million renewal
that was completed this summer. • The project encompassed
all aspects of the complex, which includes a conference center,
140 guest rooms, a restaurant, a lounge, a spa, an Olympic-size
swimming pool and other spaces. • Stories in this four-page
pullout detail what went into the renovation.
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, PHOTOS ARE BY TOM KESSLER OR COURTESY OF LIED LODGE & CONFERENCE CENTER
‘A little more luxury’
Upgrades abound after a $9 million ‘refreshment’
of Lied Lodge & Conference Center
BY MIKE WHYE
WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT
Like a tree in the spring, Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City has come out
in full foliage.
Owned and operated by the Arbor Day Foundation, the lodge has served as the foundation’s
showpiece since its guest rooms, restaurant and
conference center opened in 1993.
After 22 years, many of the items in the
lodge became heavily used. Though repairs
were made here and there, two years ago
Arbor Day Foundation executives realized the
four-story, 120,000-square-foot structure needed a major renewal.
Instead of tackling the upgrade itself, the
foundation turned to a division of Wyndham
Worldwide Corp. for expertise. Wyndham owns
more than 7,500 hotels worldwide and has been
a longtime supporter of the Arbor Day Foundation’s global conservation work.
In the fall of 2014, suppliers and contractors
directed by Wyndham began hauling out old
furnishings and putting in new ones to give
Lied Lodge a fresh look.
See Renewal: Page 10
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• SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2015
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SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2015
Space for meetings and more
ied Lodge offers ample meeting spaces within its newly renovated conference
facility, and also adjacent venues for off-site gatherings. • Just a brief tree-lined
walk from Lied Lodge is the Steinhart Lodge, an ivy-covered stone building. • Built in
the late 1940s, it has a large open wooden ceiling with three-tiered chandeliers lighting
the interior. • A few steps from there, or a short ride from Lied Lodge on a shuttle or
hayrack, are two wooden barns built in the early 20th century. • Called the Historic
Barns, they feature tall, timber-supported ceilings and have been used for cookouts,
meetings, weddings, team-building exercises and more. • Finally, there’s Arbor Lodge,
the white mansion that belonged to the Morton family from the 1850s to when the
family donated it to the state in 1923. It is now a popular place for weddings. • For
information about holding events at any of Lied Lodge’s facilities, contact the sales staff
at 402-873-8705 or [email protected]. — Mike Whye
R. NEIBEL
At top, one of the historic barns is ready for an elegant wedding celebration. Above, the Canopy Tree House
provides an incredible view of the forest.
The Arbor Day Foundation
has officially opened its
revitalized Lied Lodge,
which underwent a
$9 million renewal that
began last fall. The changes
are evident from the
moment guests walk in the
front entry. Every area of
the hotel and conference
center, including the
reception area (above), the
lobby (center), conference
spaces (both below right),
and the pool area (below)
have undergone changes.
The lodge offers 14,000
square feet of conference
space and has been used
for business meetings,
workshops, weddings,
family reunions and other
events. Besides the pool,
the lodge also has a workout
area and offers several spa
services, including a variety
of massages and other
body treatments. At right,
bonfires are fun events that
offer conference attendees a
chance to unwind.
Plenty to see and do
Apple-picking, wine tastings,
historical exhibits and more are
available in and around Lied Lodge
BY MIKE WHYE
WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT
Conference center offers resortlike setting
BY MIKE WHYE
WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT
Many people know Lied Lodge in Nebraska City as a place to relax — kick back in
the guest rooms, swim leisurely laps in the
Olympic-size pool, luxuriate with a rubdown in the spa, savor the foods and wines
in the Timber Dining Room, stroll the lush
grounds and more.
Others know it as a great place to do
work in the finest way possible — at a resort
that offers a 14,000-square-foot conference
center in the form of five conference rooms
that can be configured into more than twice
that number of spaces for occasions that
range from business meetings, weddings
and family reunions to receptions, holiday
celebrations and workshops.
In 2014, 53,198 people visited Lied’s conference center during 488 events, and the
center is busy this year, too.
“On the weekends between Aug. 1 and
Sept. 1, we have 14 weddings scheduled
here,” said sales director Theresa Brown.
Brown said the largest event held at the
conference center is a local utility plant’s
annual Christmas party.
“There are about 600 people, which
fills both ballrooms,” Brown said. Smaller
events of 10 to 300 people happen frequently at the conference center.
“The Nature Conservancy meets here every year,” she said. “They have enrichment
programs for their staff, usually in May or
June.”
Other companies that have used the
conference facilities include dozens of representatives from the Omaha and Lincoln
business community, as each city is less
than an hour’s drive away. Those from the
Kansas City area, which is about a two-hour
drive, also have used it. Education and
religious organizations also have met in the
lodge.
“A lot of conservation groups meet here,
too, because of our commitment to conservation,” Brown said.
Though most who have arranged conferences at the center are from Nebraska,
Iowa, Missouri and Kansas, some are from
elsewhere in the country.
“We have attracted others from Washington, D.C., and Colorado, among other
states,” Brown said.
International guests have come from
more than 40 countries on six continents to
attend meetings and conferences.
“It’s not uncommon to see visitors
from other countries,” said Amy Stouffer,
marketing director for the lodge. “They’re
thrilled to be in Nebraska USA.”
Brown said the conference center is used
for business purposes about 60 percent of
the time, with leisure visitors making up
the balance of visitors who frequent Lied
Lodge. Social events such as reunions, re-
ceptions and weddings fill out the rest of the
facility’s calendar.
Events also happen in Lied’s other properties, including two historic barns, a stone
lodge and Arbor Lodge, a 52-room historic
mansion that is popular for weddings and
receptions.
“Some of the other areas, including the
orchards and Tree Adventure at Arbor
Day Farm, offer great activities in the
outdoors, and some companies use them for
team-building programs,” Brown said.
Many events at the conference center
last a day. Some are two or three days. The
annual Nature Conservancy conference is a
weeklong event.
No matter how long a conference lasts,
the staff of Lied Lodge knows how to assist.
Perhaps it’s no wonder that since 2009,
the lodge has received the annual “Best of
MidAmerica” award from Meetings MidAmerica.
In each conference room is a small panel
with two buttons. One summons break
service to provide refreshments. The other
calls the lodge’s in-house tech support.
“We provide more than just ice water
and snacks,” Stouffer said. “If they need
help with their computers or printers, our
staff is ready to respond in one-and-a-half
minutes. Our tech-support guys support
computers and other equipment that people
may bring with them.”
The conference center includes a
self-service business center with photocopiers, printers and three computer kiosks.
Beyond that, the lodge offers equipment,
from simple items such as white boards and
tackable walls to high-end microphones,
high-speed Internet connections and projection systems.
Another service Lied Lodge can arrange
is a shuttle for the approximately one-hour
drive between Eppley Airfield in Omaha
and the lodge, or to and from Kansas City
International Airport, which is about two
hours away.
“We can set up shuttles for conferences
or any guest,” Stouffer said.
Several aspects about Lied Lodge make
it an attractive place for conferences,
Stouffer said. Those features include: 140
top-class guest rooms; a pool and spa; an
award-winning restaurant that serves
breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, along
with special meals for those at conferences;
and surrounding 260 acres that feature
educational opportunities, trails, historic
structures, ample forests, an orchard and a
vineyard.
For information about arranging an event
at Lied Lodge & Conference Center, go to
www.liedlodge.org/conferences/ or call 402873-8705.
Lied Lodge is more than guest rooms, a dining room, lounge and conference center. It’s a
gateway to places and events on the 260 acres it
shares with Arbor Lodge and Arbor Day Farm.
Several diversions are in the lodge itself.
From 5 to 7 p.m. most Fridays and Saturdays,
tastings of wines produced at the Arbor Day
Farm vineyard are held in the Grand Lobby.
On the ground floor is an Olympic-size swimming pool with three new lifts to aid people
with disabilities.
Nearby are a hot tub, kiddie pool, locker
rooms, fitness center and a spa that was renovated recently.
Types of massages available in the spa include Swedish bamboo fusion and deep tissue,
among others, said Robin Walters, senior reservations manager at the lodge.
Body treatments include sugar scrub, salt
glow and mud therapy body mask.
ARBOR DAY FARM
A short walk from Lied Lodge is Arbor Day
Farm, home of Tree Adventure.
“We have family-oriented activities, indoors
and outside, year-round,” said Susan Freshman,
guest experience manager of Tree Adventure.
The biggest draw is the orchard, where visitors can pick apples in the fall.
Discovery Rides are also popular, said Freshman of the tours where visitors ride wagons
pulled by farm tractors. Guides deliver a mix
of historical notes and information about the
plants, trees and orchards.
The Preservation Orchard, where varieties
of apples from yesteryear are grown, is a hit
each fall. At least 65 types of otherwise hard-tofind apples are grown in the orchard.
Apples picked by staff members are shared
with visitors so they can experience the variety
of tastes, shapes, colors and sizes.
Paved and wood-chip trails run through parts
of the farm, leading to signs identifying trees
and conservation practices, play areas and a
multistory, 50-foot-high treehouse.
As pumpkins ripen in the fall, visitors will be
able to pick them. A corn maze with 1.5 miles of
trails will test everyone’s navigation skills.
Arbor Lodge State Historical Park is across
the road from the farm. Long among Nebraska City’s top attractions, the park includes
the Morton mansion. On many fall weekends,
re-enactors explain the history of the home, its
grounds and Arbor Day.
Arbor Day Farm will be part of Nebraska
City’s annual Apple Jack Festival, which will be
held Sept. 18, 19 and 20. Activities will include
craft fairs, concerts, a Saturday afternoon
parade, a three-day carnival and more, with
enough apples, apple pies, apple fritters, apple
cider and other apple goodies to keep all visitors apple-sated.
LIED LODGE INFORMATION
Contact Theresa Brown, director of sales,
at 800-546-5433, or go to liedlodge.org.
Above, Arbor Lodge State Historical Park
includes the Morton mansion. This was the home
of J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day.
At left, the Lied Lodge dining room offers local,
sustainable food served under soaring timbers
and alongside sweeping views of Arbor Day Farm.
The menu reflects what’s fresh for the season,
bringing the best fruits and vegetables from the
field to your table.
Below left, visitors take a tour of the Lied
Greenhouse at Arbor Day Farm.
Below far left, one of the two historic barns
on the Arbor Day Farm grounds. The barns
are available for corporate cookouts, wedding
ceremonies and receptions, and other special
events.
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• SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2015
OMAHA WORLD-HERALD
Call it a coffee date
A combination of chance and design
led a worldwide hotel corporation
to help a Nebraska nonprofit
BY MIKE WHYE
WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT
Collaboration between the Arbor Day Foundation and Wyndham Vacation Ownership on
the $9 million renovation of Lied Lodge began
over cups of coffee.
As one part of Wyndham Worldwide Corp.,
WVO has a wealth of experience when it comes
to building new resorts and hotels and renovating properties.
Overall, Wyndham handles 4,500 vacation
rentals and manages 7,645 hotels, with more
than 660,000 rooms worldwide.
A few years ago, the Orlando, Florida-based
company sought foundation advice about
planting trees that were local to each Wyndham
property, said Gary Hyde, senior vice president of Wyndham’s resort operations.
After establishing its relationship with the
foundation, WVO was seeking coffee to serve
in its hotel lobbies and guest rooms when its
executives learned that the foundation was
selling its own rain forest-saving coffee, Arbor
Day Specialty Coffee.
Liking not only the taste of the coffee but
also agreeing with the foundation’s conservation principles, Wyndham began buying coffee
from the foundation.
“We use 400,000 pounds of coffee a year,”
Hyde said.
When Lied Lodge executives decided it was
time to improve the look of its 22-year-old
building complex, they turned to Wyndham and
its experience in handling renovations. Preliminary discussion began in 2013.
Along the way, Wyndham asked about 80 of
its associates — vendors, suppliers and other
interested parties — if they were interested in
participating in the lodge renovation.
In June 2014, more than 30 came to Lied
Lodge for a meeting. Soon after, a plan of action was developed.
“We asked the foundation to allow us to take
the lead on the renovations,” Hyde said. The
foundation approved the request.
“This was one of several not-for-profit
corporations we worked with,” Hyde said. “It
was an easy thing to do, helping the Arbor Day
Foundation.”
Amy Stouffer, marketing director for Lied
Lodge and Arbor Day Farm, said Wyndham
was very generous in partnering with the foundation and connecting it with the right companies to accomplish the renovation.
Work began in September 2014. The outside
walls — the first items to be redone — were
painted and stained. Then came the roofing.
In January, work moved indoors to the guest
rooms, conference center, restaurant and pool.
The massive Douglasfir timbers in the Grand
Lobby were refinished.
“We did it all while we were open for business,” Stouffer said.
Because the lodge is not as busy during the
winter as in other seasons, sections of guest
rooms could be closed, allowing contractors to
work on those rooms while guests used other
rooms.
Similarly, while contractors worked in some
of the conference center spaces, meetings went
on elsewhere.
“We had six heavy months of intense schedule on tearing out bathrooms, tearing out old
stuff and replacing it all with the new and
doing it in such a way that our guests had minimal impact,” Stouffer said. “We could still host
weddings, conferences and family reunions.
We could still have people come here and enjoy
it.”
Stouffer said she was exceptionally proud
that the lodge used many of its employees to
help with the majority of the renovation.
“We have a workforce of about 200, and not
all of those people in the dead of winter are fully employed because nothing is growing. And
with a few less guests, there were fewer rooms
to clean,” she said. “But when you have got a
lot of construction, you have a lot of things to
clean.”
A project coordinator and the lodge’s chief
engineer helped direct the lodge employees
who worked on the renovation.
Specialists were called in to construct items
that required their skills.
Another aspect of the renovation was the
handling of items removed from the lodge.
“We repurposed some items to reuse for
ourselves, we recycled some other items, and
then another portion we auctioned off and the
proceeds from the auction went back into the
project,” Stouffer said.
In cases where two guest rooms were
consolidated to create a suite, a large piece of
Douglasfir timber had to be removed to accommodate the new design.
Some of those timbers were reused as supports for the breakfast bars that were installed
in the suites.
“It was better than putting them in a landfill,” Stouffer said.
BY THE NUMBERS
GOODS, SERVICES AND SUPPORT
These firms are among the dozens of companies
that provided goods, services or financial support
for the Lied Lodge & Conference Center renewal.
» Wyndham Vacation Ownership
» Sherwin-Williams
» Pella Windows & Doors
» Peter Kiewit Foundation
» Robert B. Daugherty Foundation
» U.S. Forest Service
» Nebraska Forest Service
» Shaw Carpet
» Moen
» Daltile
» Hunter Douglas Hospitality
17
Number of languages in which the phrase
“Plant Trees” is printed on Lied Lodge’s
three-story main lobby fireplace.
Truckloads of tables, headboards, lamps,
clothing irons, shower curtain rods and more
were given to nonprofit organizations through
Keep Nebraska Beautiful.
Hearts United for Animals, the Nebraska
Humane Society and other similar organizations were given old towels for use in their
shelters.
Nearly 25,000 pounds of carpeting removed
from the guest rooms were sent to a recycling firm that refashions such material into
erosion-control products, plastic auto parts and
other items, including new carpet.
Items auctioned off included buffet tables,
dining room chairs and tables, armchairs, sideboards and leather couches.
China, glassware and silverware were kept
for use in the renovated dining room.
Visit the renewed Lied Lodge, and you will
find Arbor Day Specialty Coffee in the guest
rooms, lobby, conference center and dining
room, made from the little beans that sprouted
a relationship that renovated the jewel in the
Arbor Day Foundation crown.
24,894
Pounds of guest room carpet recycled
during the Lied Lodge renewal.
49
Number of nonprofit organizations/charities that received furnishings and fixtures
(beds, dressers, headboards, lamps, hairdryers, etc.) that were replaced as part of
the renewal.
260
Acres of Arbor Day Farm, the campus on
which Lied Lodge & Conference Center is
situated.
14,000
Square feet of adjustable meeting and
banquet space inside the all-new Lied Lodge.
140
Fully renovated guest rooms and suites at
Lied Lodge.
1 million
Estimated number of trees planted on
the first Arbor Day in Nebraska — April 10,
1872.
Source: Lied Lodge & Conference Center
At left: A worker refinishes beams in the Grand
Lobby at Lied Lodge. Though the lodge recently
underwent a $9 million renewal that included many
new furnishings, much of the lodge’s signature
woodwork was revitalized and remains in place.
MIKE WHYE FOR THE WORLD-HERALD
Above: During the renovation, items were reused
when possible. In rooms that were turned into
suites, such as this junior suite, a pillar was
converted to a support for the kitchenette
counter.
At right: A fourth-floor guest room features a
vaulted ceiling and new, upgraded furnishings.
Renewal: Some guest rooms larger; conference rooms get better climate
Continued from Page 7
GUEST ROOMS
Before the renovation, Lied Lodge
had 144 guest rooms. Now it has 140.
“We consolidated some of the
rooms to make bigger suites,” said
Amy Stouffer, the lodge’s marketing
director.
The guest rooms feature more
contemporary furniture, though they
retain the rustic touch of Douglasfir
timbers that has been something of
a trademark in the lodge since its
inception.
Vanities now have granite tops,
and the showers are newly tiled. All
rooms have coffeemakers, compact
refrigerators and large flat-screen
TVs. The rooms also have new color
palettes based on the greens and
browns found in nature, and cedar-lined ceilings, Stouffer said.
Rooms on the uppermost floor
have vaulted ceilings, while some of
the ground-floor rooms have French
doors that lead to outdoor patios.
North-facing rooms have views of a
9-acre hazelnut field, and in the distance, the historic mansion at Arbor
Lodge.
Each suite has a kitchenette with a
granite breakfast counter, a walkin shower plus a table, chairs and a
leather couch, ottoman and chaise in
its main room. An executive boardroom was created on the fourth floor,
adjacent to a suite.
“Guests are going to notice a little
more luxury when they enter the
rooms now,” Stouffer said. “The people will appreciate the refreshment
of those spaces.”
Similarly, modifications were made
to the public restrooms, and more
guest rooms were made ADA-compliant. Three new lifts were installed in
the lodge’s indoor swimming pool to
help those with disabilities enter and
leave the water.
CONFERENCE SERVICES
Lighting in the conference rooms
has been improved, and climate
controls can be adjusted so people
in different rooms can set different temperatures for their spaces
— something that was not possible
before the recent updates.
The conference rooms, which can
hold up to 380 people in the largest
room, have new carpet and paint,
said Stouffer, adding that audio-visual capabilities also have been
improved.
“The conference rooms have a
total of 14,000 square feet of meeting
space, and you can slice and dice
them however you need to. So if you
want us to connect the walls this way
or that way, we can make this or that
happen,” she said.
Annually, about 60 percent of the
guest rooms are filled by those who
are using the lodge’s conference
spaces, Stouffer said. Those spaces also are available for weddings,
family reunions, retreats and other
events.
DINING
“When people walk into the Timber
Dining Room, they’ll notice new seating, tables and lighting in the form of
new chandeliers,” Stouffer said. The
dining room also now has a mix of
SAVING ENERGY AND RESOURCES
A granite vanity and custom tilework are representative of changes made to Lied
Lodge guest room bath areas during the recent $9 million renewal.
round tables of various sizes and long
buffet tables that can seat 12.
Though the kitchen did not receive
a major overhaul, it did get new
equipment, Stouffer said. Executive
Chef Thomas McKinney-Stehr is preparing new menus. Locally produced
foods are used in the restaurant when
available.
Next to the restaurant, the Library
Lounge also was renovated. It has
new seats, tables and bar stools.
OTHER ITEMS
Improved lighting in the form of
more fixtures and new wall sconces
helps illuminate the registration desk
in the lodge, which is just inside the
Grand Lobby.
Adorning the lobby are the flags
of about a dozen states and countries
that the Arbor Day Foundation recognizes for their conservation work.
Though Lied Lodge was compliant
with the Americans with Disabilities
Act before the renovation, some of
the recent work made things even
easier for those with disabilities.
Examples include the lowering of
a portion of the registration counter
to make it accessible to people in
wheelchairs.
Items such as podiums and risers
in the conference rooms are made of
Environ, a material produced using
recycled soy products and newspapers. The windows are energy efficient argon-filled insulated glass.
The six brick fireplaces at the
lodge are designed to burn all the
smoke they produce, creating less
ash to pollute the atmosphere.
Water-saving devices are used
throughout the complex. To shuttle
guests around the 260-acre campus
that encompasses Lied Lodge, Arbor
Lodge and Arbor Day Farm, the
foundation uses Toyota Prius hybrid
gasoline-electric cars.
When the lodge opened in 1993,
a biomass fuel wood energy plant
was used to help heat and cool the
building.
A grant from the Nebraska Forest
Service and matched by the U.S. Forest Service helped renew the biomass
plant. Guests can take self-guided
tours of the plant and watch wood
chips made from old wooden pallets
being fed into the furnace.