3000 Hotels???
I was surprised to read that Humboldt County has approximately 3000 hotels, motels and inns. That's according to Tony Smithers, head honcho at the Humboldt County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
I wouldn't be surprised by 300, but 3000? Wow. Hard to believe.
I've also wondered about the claims of occupancy rates. I read something in one of the papers a while back claiming fairly high average occupancy rates of our local lodgings. Smithers says our 90% occupancy rates led the state a couple years ago.
I find that hard to believe, as well. I can't help but wonder if they're fluffing the numbers by including the motels that have been converted to homeless housing, many of which are easily identified by just driving down Broadway in Eureka.
Not that I'm complaining about having so many hotels or an average 90% occupancy rate, if true. It's just hard to believe.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:58 AM
36 comments
36 Comments:
Smithers was either misquoted, or lying. There is no way there are 3,000 hotels and motels. Maybe 3,000 rooms??
Smithers does present info so that it makes him and his program look good. He and others like him are paid based on how well they promote the area and while he does a good job in general he ALWAYS — as his predecessor taught him — massages the information to make himself look good...
just a little anonymous info from me to you....
Must be 3,000 rooms. That would seem reasonable. I wonder if that includes ones that are closed (Eureka Inn) and ones that are converted into residence hotels?
Smithers seems to be a good salesman. His lack of judgement in leading the charge for more layers of planning restrictions from National Parks, International pressures , radical enviromental groups,and more entitlement welfare programs in the form of a Nation Heritage Area scares the hell out of us. Tony, help buisness develop activities for our visitors. We have much to much set aside for the look but don't touch crowd as it is. Look to your visitors who actually stay and spend their money. Fishermen,Stock Car racers,motor sport enthusiests,The three fairs in Hum & Del Norte Co's. Rodeo,horse shows,endurance riding. The eco-visitor is a fine assest and needs to be courted and added to the equation. It is not significant nor does it ever appear to become so economically. Gotwit Days is not a big money maker and attracts only a bit over 300 participants,after many years of promotion. Although it is a very good thing which I attend it doesn't compair to a slow Sat night at the Drag Strip. The Goose celebration in Cresent City had about 80. Our senic beauty will only become a larger draw when the public has greater access to use it. The Redwood Nation Parks model is a visitor failure. Lets not build on that.
"The Redwood Nation Parks model is a visitor failure. Lets not build on that.".
Agreed
"Maybe 3,000 rooms??".
Now that makes more sense.
11:45 doesn't work in the hospitality industry, I can tell. The majority of tourists I deal with on a daily basis are in the area for Redwood or Humboldt State Park. Eureka is homebase for travels around the county. Lose the parks and Eureka would be deader than dead.
Just one more reason to doubt most of what the EurekaDistortor publishes. Just the few commenters here and Fred could discern that the numbers just don't add up. Rushton(the reporter) doesn't have the same discernment, because he knows very well which side HIS bread is buttered on. I guess those out of town speculators with money to push closer to the good ole' local boys' grasp would be dismayed if the accurate facts were plastered on the media pages.
Oh, come on now. I'm sure it's a simple oversight or misstatement, not the result of some conspiracy.
You won't convince 3:37 of anything. Once you adopt conspiracies as your world view, you are gone from society. There's no coming back from where his mind has gone. Poor Mr. Lowry is still waiting for Tuttle to rescue him.
I got the reference. Great movie!
Dim bulbs like 11:45 that knock National Heritage Areas must not have done their homework. They do not restrict anything and have no downside unless you just don't like tourists.
9;45 you are the dim bulb or a damn lier. Perhaps both. You're the type that said RNP would be an economic boom to Hum&Del Norte Counties. Go piss on someone elses leg.
So where has the NHA been a big success in bringing in dollars?
NHA is only a name. The leg pisser is the eco-hater who speaks without facts. Please cite specifically how a NHA is harmful. I'd like to hear more and see you try to cite references.
9:23 now your pissing down your own leg. Remember the old song? "You can't see the forest for the trees".
Wow. A simple post suggesting that NHAs are valuable, and some goon goes nuts.
Well Fred, if its a "simple oversight or misstatement", I ask that you point out when the retraction and accurate statement is published. I'm not holding my breath and suggest you don't either. Too many of these "misstatements" are published. This one just happened to be easier for us amateurs to catch.
The Distorter puts out a "feel good" line that essentially says: The local people in control of or who own significant resources are acting to better everyone else's lot. The simple fact is those folks didn't obtain their wealth by being magnanimous. In truth, it was the opposite. And they know quite well that they won't retain their advantaged positions if they become magnaminous. What they will do is give away a penny when they have a good chance of getting a dime back.
Seems like a high number. Does that include B&B's? Still seems high.
1:29, of course people come to the redwoods. Always have,always will. Stop and think just a little though. How much of the park does a tourist see? Not much is the answere and the park service has worked hard to aquire more park land and keep the public in very specific closed in areas. The park has not produced the vistor numbers you think.There has to be more activities and more access to keep people around a day or two more. Their own stats are dismal at best. Plus if you remember how RNP treated a huge tourist base that came to the spit at Orick every year you will realize the park is a negitive economic source so far. 5 to 6 million $ a year from the motor home crowd is gone from our county. Gone and not comming back. I have been in the hospitality buisness all my life and I see you are not looking at the whole picture. Developing greater tourism is a slow steady course. The parks have hurt us and I'm not sure they are willing to be the good partners we need. One can only hope that with time they will come around. Don't add more over lays,restrictions,and impediments to private interprise.
Now a nice container port moving some 1,000 containers through Old Town every day oughta boost the tourism numbers.
From the April 2007 Humboldt Economic Index:
Hospitality this month is the only sector in the red. This Index declined 2.4 percent on the month to a value of 78.3. This is definitely in the bottom of the Index's usual range. It tends to fluctuate between about 80 and 110. Hospitality was also weak last month, declining an additional 5.0 percent. This is beginning to look like a weak spell for this industry as the Index declines and the four month moving average takes on a decidedly negative slope.
Also from the April 2007 Humboldt Economic Index:
The seasonally adjusted Humboldt County unemployment rate remained at 5.1 percent for the third consecutive month. This is a fairly favorable level, historically for Humboldt County. The seasonally adjusted Humboldt County Employment Index rose slightly this month because it is based on total employment rather than on the unemployment rate. The county added jobs this month as new workers flowed into the county workforce. While the total number of the unemployed remained fairly stable, 700 jobs were created in the county this month.
Yes it would. When shipping is moving to one location it helps spur movement of cruise lines. Better docking facilities,services,etc. By the way tourist by ship is very enviro-friendly. Don't scoff at it. Of course the world class Headwaters Forest is an economic boom of epic perportions. The tourists are flocking to it so they can hop on one of our great cruise ships. Point being we've got a lot of work to do to keep this county alive and it will take all side cooperating. So get on board.
Yeah like the NCRA is on board with the Eureka - Arcata trail.
Not.
BTW - where are those cruise ships now? You say they need container ships idling in the Bay to make it attractive?
OK you two go out side and smoke a couple fatties, your true anti-everything sides are showing. The rest of us will just keep working,trying to make a better community and cleaning up after you shit yourselves.
The 3,000 hotel, motel and inn number cited from the HCCVB should have indicated "rooms" in the column, which it didn't. Tony Smithers was not trying to pull a fast one on anybody. It was an accidental ommission on my part. A correction/clarification is running in Tuesday's ER.
Thanks, Nathan. Now can everyone post clarifications/corrections for all the stupid stuff people have been posting here in response?
Yep. The correction is at the bottom right of page A2 in today's paper.
I see the so-called "progressive" values of Shane Brinton are being represented in the NoHum District more and more these days. Just look at the Times Standard today. Who is next on the hit list for hate from Comerade Brinton? We all know how intolerant he is towards any leftist resistance to the rule of the Democrat Central Committee.
So, the paper was caught red handed and blames an error? Next time they'll be more careful to hide their misstatements and distortions. Like the Iraqi insurgents, the'll adjust their tactics to overcome watchful eyes. And like the insurgents, the Distorter won't prevail.
12:41, either that is brilliant satire, or you are f*ckn moron.
I'd settle for 200 Motels.
Blame all the Homeless Hotels on Zoning and Kevin Hamblin . It seems Ramblin Hamblin has gotten complaints against using the Hotels for Multi-Residential and not Service-Commercial which they are zoned for and Ramblin Hamblin does not do squat .Best advise for Kevin is get another job.....far out of our City .
You think Hamblin cares? He does not even live in the City.
1:18, The reason you can't understand the message is that YOU'RE the f*ckn moron ! Distorter is a flash in the pan that will be dropped like a used rubber after Arkley has his way with the town of Eureka.
Well written article.
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