Wednesday, November 18, 2009

They Come... They Go... some stay...it's only business

I got a response to last night’s blog about my mention of building a new hotel in Charlottetown and the person asked "why do you think Charlottetown needs another hotel?"... and I guess my answer is more talking about business enterprise and how it works... in 1951 Woolworths built a brand new 4 level building on Queen Street in Downtown Charlottetown which was then state of the art in retailing and I'm sure a few locals felt the pinch but it was the new best thing in department store retailing and Islanders flocked the store... in the sixties it was a new Kmart that became the new rage... in the seventies Towers were the new player in Town followed by Zellers in the eighties and the Walmart in the nineties and the latest a brand new Sears... they all come and go based on a business plans and the good ones like Sears survive through continued fresh investment and focus on what the consumer is looking for... it's pretty much been the same story in other sectors such as automotive, grocery, wholesalers, etc... and I suspect the same hold true in the hotel business and all you have to do is look around at our neighbouring cities like Moncton, Saint John, Halifax, etc... and you'll see new branded hotels like the Hampton Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Four Points Sheraton, Country Suites, and Radisson Hotels to name a few popping up all over the place with loyalty programs that tourists “we need” can't use here... all these new enterprises brings jobs and investments to the Island and gives potential visitors more choices and it also forces existing operators to reinvest in freshening up their facilities and programs all of which is good for the end users and our tourist industry... I think it's a great opportunity and I've lined up some investors who think so as well so to answer the question I think it's just business enterprise looking for opportunity that answers the question does Charlottetown need another hotel...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent explanation Tim. When can we expect to see your new hotel? ;)

Anonymous said...

It will be interesting to see if Tim has the guts to take on Homburg.

Anonymous said...

Not exactly competition for Homburg. Totally different target markets. The hotel Homburg is constructing sounds much like a boutique hotel similar to The Great George or their existing hotel on Pownal.

Great initiative Tim, a chain hotel could certainly work here and would cater to the everyday traveller who isn't looking to drop $$$ at a high end boutique hotel.

Anonymous said...

I heard that the person who bought the Royalty maple cottage corner will be putting up a hotel there as well ??









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Anonymous said...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2009/11/20/pei-federal-building-for-sale-584.html

http://www.clc.ca/properties/dominion-building

That should be the spot. It is a once in a life time location

Anonymous said...

Of course he has the guts. If the product is right, then it will succeed and the research and development will be done to ensure that going forward is the right choice.

Anonymous said...

Hotels don't drive demand! nobody is sitting around in Halifax asking where should they go this weekend to get some loyalty points! More inventory in the city is reckless without demand drivers! build a new convention centre, an attraction, stimulate industry to set up shop and then build the hotels! All this is going to do in the short term is put existing folks, in the industry, in a 50% market, out of work!

Anonymous said...

i think its a great idea Tim but please put it in the downtown somewhere and not on the outskirts.
Help us revitalize the downtown core and eliminate urban sprawl.