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‘Current leaseholders should have right of refusal’
The Saipan Chamber of Commerce believes in maintaining continuity and sustainability with regards to hotel investments in the CNMI.
In a recent interview, Chamber president Alex Sablan said that hotels such as Mariana Resort and Spa should be given the right of refusal when their leases expire.
“What we believe we should be doing is maintaining continuity, long-term stability, sustainability—and that’s what you have with the current owners who have been here for almost 40 years and we believe that should be an opportunity for them to be given first right of refusal for the properties,” Sablan said.
He added that a diversified market should be upheld.
“We believe that a good, diversified market is the way to go. Right now you have diversity in the ownership of the hotels: Japan, Korea, China,” he said.
“The fear you may have down the road is that we put all our eggs in one basket because, in large part, the people that are coming and investing right now are the Chinese only. There really isn’t any nationality of sorts in investment that is coming or has come in the last 12 to 15 years,” he added.
Last May, the Department of Public Lands sent out a letter to five Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands members—Mariana Resort, Kanoa Resort, Fiesta Resort and Spa, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, and Hyatt Regency Saipan—to solicit expressions of interest to extend their current leasehold.
Mariana Resort has less than three years left on its lease, Fiesta Resort and Hyatt Regency have about six years left, while Kanoa Resort and Pacific Islands Club Saipan have about 10 years.
In a follow up letter, DPL said it will now apply to expiring leases the new policy of conducting global solicitations and that will be the rule for any expiring leases with the government.
HANMI chair Gloria Cavanaugh earlier said the new policy is “akin to economic recklessness.”
