11-04-2015, 12:41 AM
(11-03-2015, 03:12 PM)Elmira Guy Wrote: Waterloo Inn to close in December; economic factors blamed
http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/mobile/water...-1.2640692
Well ... not the economy, for sure. It's really a business decision for them:
Quote:She said the hotel’s owners had decided that the only way to make the business economically sustainable was to invest a significant amount of money – or to find someone else who would take it off their hands and do just that.
They had a very strong position in the Waterloo hotel market for a long time, with the St Jacobs Best Western the only real competition. And they bought the adjacent land from the former B-K Volvo dealership, so they had opportunity to expand and upgrade.
But they did not move on this, and they did not sign up with any of the major chains (who probably would have required an upgrade as well). Now there is a new Delta in the Barrelyards, Best Western has become a Marriott Courtyard, and there are a (Hilton) Homewood Suites and a Holiday Inn Express next to the Courtyard. All those properties are more modern than Waterloo Inn -- and that's not even considering Kitchener (even the downtown Crown Plaza is now much-improved).
Waterloo Inn had a huge window of opportunity. The owners didn't take advantage of it, but it really was their business decision -- they decided to cash in on the land value rather than invest in the hotel.
Let's hope that something good will replace it, whether another hotel or something completely different. (19 acres/7.5 hectares is big enough for a lot of things, and very close to the LRT.)