Snowshoe Sold to Marriott?
August 15, 2006
23 posts
11 users
8k+ views
Anyone heard that Marriott Corporation has concluded negotiations to acquire the Snowshoe reservation and resort? That would be a major purchase for the chain, getting into a new core competency in the resort business...
Yes - was there for the last 9 days and it's all the buzz. They are supposed to make a public announcement this week.
Oh, the Seneca has been condemned too! Fire marshal padlocked it: electrical wiring wrapped around the water pipes (walls have to be torn out), no fire retardant(ceilings have to come down), and a major support beam is bending and the building is listing. Has 89 current lawsuits pending.
Exactly what is Marriott buying? They already have a top notch reservations system, so its rather strange they would want to buy another. And, maybe I am out of the loop, but does Marriott own any other resorts? I know they have major lodging facilities at all of the big ski resorts but I am not aware of any actual resort infrastructures they may own and operate. Do you have any more info on the subject, Rich?
There's been a lot of separate news involving how Intrawest wants to get out of the resort management arena and focus on real estate and property development. There is no hotel at Snowshoe (I wouldn't count the motel at the bottom as you can't walk to the Expo. Ctr. and the new Convention Ctr they're building), only privately owned condos. Snowshoe has a huge convention and event business - it's NOT a ski resort and skiers just have a hard time letting go of that notion. It's a huge mountain biking, event, and golf destination. I'm there year-round working as an events volunteer and mountain ambassador. Skiers have no clue re Snowshoe between April & November! (FYI DC'ers- it was 59 at night and 71 by day last week). What it needs is a mountain top HOTEL for those people. There are huge expansive flat parking lots on top just ripe for a high rise hotel with parking decks. Skiers might complain about terrain and crowds, but they have to just let it go and realize it's a 12-month resort that offers skiing in the winter. They're still in the pre-Intrawest mode. Is The Homestead a ski destination???
Intrawest will gravitate toward real estate development and Marriott to hotel and convention trade.
This isn't good news for Morgan-Keller out of Frederick, MD. M-K built The Seneca, while Branch & Associates has built most of the other larger projects at The Shoe. I guess Branch & Associates will get another change order to fix M-K's problems.
Marriott is a hotel management company. They generally don't own the real etate that they manage. Most of the physical real estate ends up with institutional investors (ex. pension plans, insurance company portfolios, REITs). Intrawest sold a chunk of thier real estate holdings to a REIT several years ago. I'm not sure if any of Snowshoe's property was involved in that deal. So it is concievable that a company like Marriott acquires just the management service contract at SS. In that type of arrangement, I'm not sure who manages the other infrastructure such as snowmaking, lifts, buses, etc.
from what i recall, there were also numerous problems with highland house and allegheny springs in their infancy. owners have every right to be majorly peeved as they have paid prime dollar only to faced with delayed openings and major problems...so much for the big box buildings.
The Spin begins at Snowshoe. Of course, Snowshoe management states that the Seneca is restricted from rentals by Snowshoe. BECAUSE the fire marshall saw a gazillion infractions that included improper fire walls etc. No rentals will take place AND owners are going in at their own risk. Isn't that the definition of a condemned building? If it keeps on spinning like that, there will be a tornado.
Marriott taking over at least the lodging operations is a great idea. And marketing too please.
Any new construction may have it's shakedown period where things come up here & there. It all eventually gets worked out. Probably just don't want the Renters in til it's all perfect, so it's obviously not condemned. It's open to Owners til it's perfect. And I wouldn't take any talk of Marriott as more then just that until J.W. himself comes on. DCski has it's CV proponents and I spent my wonder years at Canaan, I just happen to lean toward the 'Shoe now and wish everyone could hit one of the many many Summer events to see it's a 4-Season resort.
Is this true about The Seneca? Is there a link for info on this?
I've been in contact with Snowshoe officials to find out the status of the Seneca, and want to pass on some facts about the situation. The Seneca has not been condemned and is not padlocked. At their own discretion, Intrawest has temporarily halted rentals at the property until they are able to address some deficiencies uncovered in a routine inspection. Property owners are still able to access their units. Snowshoe also has some administrative offices located in the building, and those offices remain open. By temporarily removing the property from the rental program, Intrawest will be able to make any necessary corrections more efficiently, safely, and without disturbing guests. Snowshoe provided DCSki with the additional details below:
Quote:
"During a routine building inspection, some of the Seneca Lodge's fire rated wall assemblies were deemed deficient. Immediately following this discovery, a State Fire Marshall's inspection determined that, with the other fully functioning components of the building's fire safety system, the Seneca could maintain operations as normal throughout the remediation process. Despite the Fire Marshall's declaration, Intrawest opted to temporarily remove the building from rental operations to ensure a safe and timely coordination of the remediation. A full investigation has been completed by the building's architects. Pending the results of the investigation, resort officials will immediately layout a detailed action plan and proposed timelines for completing the work. Owners are still able to access their units at their discretion. Intrawest is employing all resources necessary to ensure a timely and successful resolution to this matter."
Rich - I must call you out on your posting history. In your zeal to promote Snowshoe (which I appreciate because I own there too) your postings are consistently innaccurate and the truth is embellished more times than not. I believe that your loose information does more harm than good to Snowshoe's reputation.
Wires wrapped around water pipe??? WTF! Are you sure about that? Usually you can't close up a wall until the electrical and plumbing rough in inspections by the county are completed. Man that whole thought is a multi level s*** storm I don't even want to contemplate. I hate to say it but I feel bad for the owners because this is going to take a while to get fixed mainly due to the degree of finger pointing that is going to happen. The owners will point a finger at the GC who'll point fingers at the structural engineer, electrical consultant, architect, subs etc. Between all of them will be a group of owners with a hefty mortgage and nothing to show for it.
Quote:
Rich - I must call you out on your posting history. In your zeal to promote Snowshoe (which I appreciate because I own there too) your postings are consistently innaccurate and the truth is embellished more times than not. I believe that your loose information does more harm than good to Snowshoe's reputation.
I agree (also an owner)- Rich's comments are usually way off base and far removed from reality.
Intrawest's first foray in building at Snowshoe was Camp 4 around 97-98. There have been lots of problems there over the years. The maintenance manager there gets to deal with all the fun. Contractors installed water supply lines to the washing machine on exterior walls with no wrap insulation- when the temps get well below zero (DUH!!) you can only imagine how much water damage is done in the days and weeks before it is discovered.
Camp 4 also had some major problems in 04-05. Apparently too many sewer lines were hooked up and there was an overcapacity issue- the maintenance mgr said he was literally ankle deep in s*** in one unit and had a field day with the insurance adjuster.
I've had my fun at Wabasso as well- my brother is a liscened electrical contractor and checked things out when I bought. He said the wiring work was so bad that I was lucky the place hadnt burned down. Richmond Homes built them in '79, and the old timers on the mountain say there wasnt much code enforcement or even much of a 'code' in existence at the time.
All of this isnt very surprising- from my experience in major metro areas with homes, the code inspectors 'work quality' is a joke at best.
Hey hey hey!!! Take it easy on Rich for god's sake. Everyone has a prejudice of some sort one way or the other. He defends the mountain and with good reason, it has given so many of us a center of pleasure and recreation. This is a ski lover's website, not the Bill O'Reilly Crucifixion Hour on Fox. Lighten up guys!
Im not trying to be mean but DWW (who I dont know) and I call it like it is.
Some of Rich's postings are huge whoppers and full of erroneous info. I am an adamant defender of the mountain, but prefer to have discussions based in facts and reality. By doing 'ambassador work'(participating in the volunteer program to earn free passes, etc) and serving up misrepresented info to visitors and readers of this site, it does the resort (and unassuming visitors) a major disservice.
Following his line of logic, one would think the market value of a Summit unit would now be around 400K. Soaring Eagle units dont go for 600K- its from the 200-600's. And its a Gary Player, not Arnold Palmer, designed golf course (which DWW nailed him on). The list goes on and on. If we are so proud of our mountain we should at least bring some semblance of credibility and knowledge to the table.
When people in my Office heard about all the work I did there for free, they thought I was totally nutz - it's embarrassing. I don't need "free" anything. I won't say one f'n word about Snowshoe again...happy? Couldn't care less about Snowshoe at this point. OK - happy now or do I have to wax your f'n skis???
hmmmmm, wax on, wax off, i could use a free waxin
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Flanary, I don't understand your anger at Rich. Certainly not in any spirit of cooperation and amity. And if he has exaggerated, your unproven assertions of "whoppers" etc., are as exaggerated as what you attribute to him. As far as the golf course, could be Arnold Palmer, Gary Player or Howdy Doody. Who gives a darn?
Being a goodwill ambassador for the mountain doesn't necessarily make you a spin stooge for Intrawest. As a matter of fact, there are countless postings done by Rich where he assails the marketing incompetence of Snowshoe's management.
I am afraid that we lost a valuable contributor to this forum and that he was hounded out of the forum because of insensitive and angry remarks that are out of place in polite conversation.
Come-on now... Rich will be back. If this forum has any integrity, how can it rip "Skippy" a new one everytime he makes unsubstantiated statements about BK, and allow Rich to do the same (only with a different spirit). Personally I enjoy Rich's postings and he adds some life to this forum. He also often has very good points to make. I just felt the need to call him out on his recent string of embellishments - Arnold Palmer/Gary Player, Top 10 Course/Top 100 course, Seneca Condemned/Not condemned, Marriott making an annoucement this week....not, etc., etc. His stuff is generally in the right direction, but pushing the line of outright BS.
As previously stated, I was not trying to be mean. There is no anger and no one is trying to run anyone off the forums.
Check out the SPOC site for some brief updates on the Seneca and Intrawest for sale topics...
http://www.spocnews.com/index.php?section=1Interesting note on Snowshoe planning to 'reimburse homeowners'. I doubt homeowners have received this in writing.
Well, been off the pages lately with work up to my ears and getting ready for (knock on wood or pagan idols) the hurricane season that's becoming a dud... we need a break... So went off to Snowshoe this past weekend to enjoy the cool weather and didn't even think of work nor logged into work. What a beautiful weekend!
I did see, and I will declare on Rich's side, that if the Seneca status is not pure Intrawest spin, I don't know what is... Spoke to an owner at Seneca who said yes, the building is locked and yes, she is escorted in and out of the building for safety reasons and yes, she is staying somewhere else in the resort when they go there. Wouldn't elaborate further. Mmmm... Conjectures and gossip in Snowshoe make Peyton Place look like an open society.
I will say that with Intrawest's sale to a company that specializes in customer affairs is a definite plus, if that's going to make Snowshoe customer oriented. There is a definite disconnect between the development, the operations, and the customer relations base. On the positive, side, I have now been the recipient of exemplary customer treatment at the Junction TWICE... Not once, but TWICE. This is simply a miracle. I even pulled my trick and went for breakfast at 1 PM and they accomodated me with eggs and ham despite their assertion that it was lunch time. On the down side, the most upscale clothing you can buy at Snowshoe is three-year old Spyder jackets at full price. Sorry.
Another plus may be marketing. Should the new owners be aggressive in marketing, which may take replacing the present marketing team at the mountain, it may bring back the plethora of cancellations they had this year and which left so many home owners with unrented property in the summer.
Sometimes even abrupt changes are good.
