Hotel closure means loss of jobs, revenue in Blaine
BLAINE, Wash. -- The Upper Skagit Tribe will shutter the Semiahmoo Inn in December, and that means 200 employees will be out of work and the city of Blaine will take a huge financial hit.
It used to be difficult to even get a room at Semiahmoo.
"We had bookings from the east coast and the south and big conferences and that dried up in a heart beat in 2008," said tribal attorney Harry Chesnin.
People in Blaine knew things had slowed down at the inn, but nobody expected Wednesday's announcement.
"This is the largest employer in the area, the largest property tax payer, the largest sales tax payer," said Blaine city manager Gary Tomsic.
For Blaine, the closure means a massive budget hit. At least $1 million will be lost from sales tax revenues, utility bills and city coffers. Now the city will be forced to cut services and lay off police officers.
"I don't know if I felt like I'd jumped off a bridge, but I did feel like I'd been hit in the gut," Tomsic said.
Tomsic said it could mean all the city's tourist attractions -- the aerial shows, the jazz festivals, the fireworks shows -- will have to go.
"Sad, real sad," said Blaine resident Sally Cymbalsky. "I come here a lot. It makes me sad to know I won't be able to."
Tribal officials say they're dealing with several potential out-of-state buyers for the Semiahmoo, but they warn negotiations could take some time. Even if a buyer is found, officials say the inn will likely remain closed until the middle of next year.
The inn's golf course and marina will remain open.
It used to be difficult to even get a room at Semiahmoo.
"We had bookings from the east coast and the south and big conferences and that dried up in a heart beat in 2008," said tribal attorney Harry Chesnin.
People in Blaine knew things had slowed down at the inn, but nobody expected Wednesday's announcement.
"This is the largest employer in the area, the largest property tax payer, the largest sales tax payer," said Blaine city manager Gary Tomsic.
For Blaine, the closure means a massive budget hit. At least $1 million will be lost from sales tax revenues, utility bills and city coffers. Now the city will be forced to cut services and lay off police officers.
"I don't know if I felt like I'd jumped off a bridge, but I did feel like I'd been hit in the gut," Tomsic said.
Tomsic said it could mean all the city's tourist attractions -- the aerial shows, the jazz festivals, the fireworks shows -- will have to go.
"Sad, real sad," said Blaine resident Sally Cymbalsky. "I come here a lot. It makes me sad to know I won't be able to."
Tribal officials say they're dealing with several potential out-of-state buyers for the Semiahmoo, but they warn negotiations could take some time. Even if a buyer is found, officials say the inn will likely remain closed until the middle of next year.
The inn's golf course and marina will remain open.
We always enjoyed doing a winter weekend at the Semiahmoo each year. Their off season room specials were attractive and restaurant and lounge was enjoyable. It was always fun to frolic in the indoor sauna, Jacuzzi and pool in the dead of winter with snow on the ground.
Â
I hope all the employees land on their feet with new jobs as we go into the holiday season. Our prayers are with them.
All y'all blaming management, did you READ the article? "At least $1 million will be lost from sales tax revenues, utility bills and city coffers"...
Â
I get that you're liberals, but seriously, do you really think ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN TAXES had no impact? You talk about how the hotel should have adjusted. Perhaps Blaine should have reduced the hotel's taxes.
Â
Oh wait... whenever we try that here, the left screams that it's a corporate give-away. Like those movie making incentives a while ago.
Â
Think about it next time you vote on, for example, mandory sick time, additional taxes, parking restrictions, new regulations... these things add up. Which management failed? Yours, as the voters.
What a bummer. This is quite a charmning place. Great golf nearby. It draws a lot of Canadians down. I was there last summer and had a great time.Â
This has happened across American time and time again and it hurts when it's a small town because they already don't have much going on for them. Small towns are disappearing at an alarming rate. Hope they can find new jobs but ultimately that probably means moving which is hard to do with no much savings which hotel workers don't earn much.
Total mismanagement. Yes, business slowed down for hotels in 2007/2008, we were in the biggest Recession in history. Â BUT.. all the other hotels and properties have rebounded in the past few years. Â Seems more to me like an internal problem. Â I've been to conferences there, and know that it used to be well attended. Hopefully they can sell it to someone that knows how to run it. Â
Can you spell "mismanagement" ??
Could they have responded to the market and lowered their prices? Â
Very sad.
This comment has been deleted
 @Sounders_FC Yes,the economy sucks.Too bad the voters of WAH will keep voting for the same people over and over again. Vote out Cantwell,Obama. Vote in Michael Baumgartner and Mitt Romney
 @Maynard G Krebbs  @Sounders_FC Really? Hmmm: Consumer Confidence Index highest in 8 years. Unemployment down 3% since 2008. Housing prices soaring again to pre-Recession levels. Housing starts in record territory. Auto Industry making record profits. Stock market doubled since the Recession. Consumer spending UP. 5 million private sector jobs created since 2008, after losing 800k a month previously.  Only a complete idiot would vote for the same people and policies that brought us the housing crash and Great Recession. Only a true idiot.Â
A private company closes its doors and it must be the government's fault. Certainly it couldn't be the fact that the management team failed to adjust to the changing market place.
200 people out of work will never be a *yawn* in my book, especially in a town the size of Blaine.