Record Tourism Year for Port Angeles
Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director Russ Veenema said the City will get $504,000 in room tax collections by the end of the year, which would set a record. During August, lodging rates averaged about 90%.
According to Russ Veenema's calculations, tourism traffic this year generated roughly $44 million in economic impact from guests staying overnight inside the Port Angeles city limits. These numbers do not include visitors who came to Port Angeles for a day trip and didn't stay overnight.
According to Russ Veenema's calculations, tourism traffic this year generated roughly $44 million in economic impact from guests staying overnight inside the Port Angeles city limits. These numbers do not include visitors who came to Port Angeles for a day trip and didn't stay overnight.
posted by Tom Harper at 10:00 AM
20 Comments:
Raise the rates, and set a record. It's pretty easy, actually. Duh. Just like Hollywood can say they're making more money than ever, even though the number of tickets sold keeps going down - all they have to do is keep raising the price of tickets.
Look at what Veenema is saying. He's not even trying to take credit. The ONP just sits there, there were fires other places that drove people here, etc. NOTHING the Chamber does works. NOTHING in Port Angeles works.
Let's see what some of those visitors experienced when they stayed in Port Angeles from recent reviews.:
" Filthy blanket, big stains on sheets, toilet installed crooked, found out in the morning that it wouldn't flush. Unable to open windows. Room smelled musty and medicinal. Couldn't wait to get home and take a bath and wash everything that was with me. Parking spaces laid out poorly."
And:
"This place is a rat hole."
This is about the recently renovated Holiday Lodge. You know, inspected and approved by the City.
How about the Red Lion, right downtown on the waterfront?
A review from 2 days ago:
"I found staying here to be a frustrating, annoying experience and would never stay here again."
From a week ago: "This place needs a remodel. Carpets are dingy, room was smelly. I agree the place is a bit rundown. They also need to stock the rooms w/ newer towels."
Of the Quality Inn, 2 weeks ago: "“great location, property in sad shape”, " We were "upgraded" to a suite which had a large living room/kitchenette but was in terrible repair. One of the large windows in the living room (which could have provided a nice view) had a 4 foot long crack in it which had been crossed taped to stabilize the breakage (and clearly wasn't recent), the carpet was badly stained."
The list of complaints and bad experiences is long.
Getting people to come here is one thing (and I don't give the Chamber any credit, there), but if the local hotels, motels and food joints give them a bad experience, what good is it?
How could the City inspect and approve a motel with so many obvious building flaws?
Why don't the local businesses keep their visitor serving facilities clean, neat and well staffed? Is there any kind of minimum standards these places have to meet? Who enforces this?
Olympic National Park is definitely a draw for tourists, and the Elwha River Restoration project has been receiving tremendous press coverage around the world. People who are interested in the Park and the river restoration project need to stay somewhere, if even for one night.
As the reviews on travel web sites show, visitors are uniformly unimpressed by the lodging offerings in town. They also feel that they are being gouged on prices. The inflated room rates obviously will generate more lodging tax revenues.
If there are to be return visitors among the group of reviewers, they will be more likely to camp next time or search for a vacation home to rent for a few days.
Meanwhile, the city and CofC fritter away lodging tax revenues on ---- what?
My grandpa came here for Esprit, and he got crabs. Not sure what kind, though. He says they were Dungeness, but I'm not so sure. Sure taught me not to share a swimsuit with grandpa.
I haven't really seen any signs of that much money here other than some pretty heavy traffic at times.
Two local real estate agents have been named TOP real estate agents at that firm, for the month, by that firm! There's an article in today's online edition of the PDN telling all about it! Not just top agents for a day, or a week, but a whole month! Someone pinch me! Better yet, if I miss the article next month, feting the next top agent, someone please alert me! Can the same person receive such honor two months in a row? Does Coldwell Banker have rules in place to allow such things to happen? If we had a decent paper, we'd get more background on this FASCINATING local development!
A record year for violent transients and meth addicts too! Clallam County should feel so proud...
1:43 AM, September 04, 2014 ...CB is owned by (Throbbing) Dick Pilling - Clallam republican Party Chair, and Dan (Conflict of Interest) Gase. I think they also hand out awards for "Best Public Interest Scam" and "Most Homeless people Kicked in a Day".
Back to the Holiday Lodge thing.
As we know, the former Chinook Motel, now "Holiday Lodge" was closed for years, and the City threatened to have it torn down. Then the change of ownership, and "renovation".
Only a year after the City inspected it, deemed it complying with it's standards and gave the Holiday Lodge all needed permits to serve the public, we see pictures from visitors calling the place a "rat hole".
Is this (yet another) example of what gets permitted in this City? Not talking about all the funky stuff people just turn a blind eye to, but a recent, high visibility project the City inspected and approved.
Any wonder there are huge cracks in the cement at the City inspected and approved Gateway bus stop?
Any wonder the City inspected and approved landfill stabilization project collapsed after only a few years?
(We won't get into the funky stuff that went on with Cutler's Turd Tank).
Re:WTF? 1:43am...Dick Pilling has never had an ownership interest in CB and Gase sold out over five years ago...might want to try getting at least a few of the details right...unless you are just trying to pass out bad info...hmmm?
You think these tourists will be coming back to Port Angeles? What do you think they will be telling friends, family and others about their visit here?
"My stay at the riviera was a horror.
I was charged 120.$ plus tax for the room. I found a small spec of what looked like blood on the sheet. I just needed a place to stay so I asked the front desk for another sheet and replaced it.the next morning on a whim I checked under the mattress I was shocked and panicked when I found 5 used syringes .. I had slept on top of them !!! I contacted the front desk and he offered me a measily discount 20% No way ! I spent the next half hour trying to get a full refund. The male and female at the front desk were telling me that it was my job to check for stuff upon my check in.. They lied to me and tried to swindle me.. All they cared about was losing money on a room.. They don't care about customers! Avoid these bandits and dishonest people at all costs !!"
A review of a Port Angeles hotel:
“Worst hotel I have ever stayed at”
Reviewed yesterday
The outside looked pretty shabby and worn down, but we had no other option. The interior was similarly beat up. They did have a minimum level of hygiene or we would not have stayed."
See? Port Angeles Tax payers spend millions to get people to come to Port Angeles, and this is what they get to experience:
“Dirty Stay Away”
Reviewed 3 weeks ago
This place reminded me of a hotel that you pay by the hr. Dirty sticky bathroom floor and desktop, dirt stuck to shower walls, dirty soap dish, bathroom had 1 of 4 vanity lights out, toilet makes a bubbling noise and suds come up into toilet. The room and bed shakes.
A visitor from Florida says:
“So little to like”
Reviewed yesterday
"I have spent the greater part of my life in motels on the road and I haven't been in one this sleazy in at least two decades."
When I went to Newport, Oregon I stayed in a sleaze bag motel between two rooms that had single women on each side of me that live there and it cost me just over 200 bucks for three nights, I'll bet they get a lot better rate.
In the winter there you can get a room for 35 bucks, but not during the summer.
I can see the local hotels are showing their appreciation for all the free advertising the City is paying for!
@ 2:25 PM.... It isn't free advertising, tacked on room tax fees pay for it, you are paying for it when you get a room.
Billy, you figure the advertising the Chamgber of Commerce does to get people to come and stay in Port Angeles costs the hotel owners here much?
@ 8:31 PM..... I am not currently familiar with all of the details.
when will we get a chamber that can actually DO something? I'm so sick of Mr. V, he's a moron. Couldn't market his way out of a paper shopping bag with one end open, and an large EXIT sign.
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