Wrather Corp. Withdraws as Manager of Biltmore

Wrather Corp., acquired less than a month ago by Walt Disney Co., has withdrawn as manager of the landmark Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, it was announced Monday.

Wrather has been replaced by the Windsor Hotel Group, a newly formed hotel management firm whose principals, Carlos C. Lopes and Eric Prevette, had recently worked as senior officers of Rosewood Hotels, controlled by Caroline Hunt in Dallas.

Lopes and Prevette have already taken over, but a termination fee to paid by them to Wrather is still being negotiated, according to Richard D. Nanula, Disney’s manager of strategic planning and acquisitions.

The fee is expected to be less than $5 million, one source said. Wrather has been managing the hotel since January, 1987. Disney and Wrather officials gave no reason for the withdrawal.

Within the last year, the Biltmore--owned by a group of investors called the Biltmore Partners--had begun to pay more attention to the business traveler with such services as one-hour pressing of garments.

Lopes said he plans to follow the same strategy.

“Where we come in is to refine those services and make them more consistent,” he said.

Lopes and Prevette also plan to expand the food, beverage and retail outlets at the Biltmore, as well as begining a membership dining club.

Lopes said Windsor Hotel Group is also looking to manage hotels in Florida and Washington.

The 65-year-old Biltmore has undergone a $200-million renovation that was plagued with cost overruns.

A 24-story office tower--Biltmore Place--was constructed as part of the renovation.

Joseph G. Kordsmeier, a hotel consultant based in Carmel Valley, Calif., said that he had heard reports that Wrather might not have met the profitability goals set by the hotel’s owners.

“The financial targets were so out of range that they were impossible,” he said.