After years of planning and construction, and not without some controversy, the county’s most luxurious beachfront hotel south of Ponte Vedra Beach is now open, but its importance will go beyond the fact that it will put some tourists right on the sandy shore.
What the new Embassy Suites in St. Augustine Beach has that other area hotels don’t is event space. Yes, there will be plenty of weddings, but with beach view meeting rooms as large as 5,000 square feet and as cozy as a board room, the hotel has the potential to become a hub of corporate meetings and events.
The 175-room hotel, owned and developed by Key International, officially opened Friday.
Those associated with the hotel and those just in the tourism industry acknowledge the importance of having the ability to host so many events.
“On the beach, there aren’t a lot of options for that,” said Jason Kern, the general manager of the new Embassy Suites.
In the non-traditional travel season, corporate events can keep the rooms filled and expose the hotel to potential clients who might come back during the more popular vacation times.
Kern said it’s unusual to have such a great location that works for both business and leisure. And with the economy booming in the entire Jacksonville metro area, Kern expects many opportunities to work with corporate clients in Jacksonville, Orlando and other regional business hubs.
“We’re in that window where we’re far enough away where you can have a meeting and people will stay overnight and you kind of get the experience you’re looking for,” he said. “Or you can make it a day meeting where people can come here and meet and go back to the office. You get them off site, get them out work environment, get things done.”
For the county, adding more business travelers expands the appeal and knowledge of the destination, according to Richard Goldman, president and CEO of the county visitors and convention bureau.
“Groups are important to us for a couple of reasons,” Goldman said. “One is that they are typically fairly significant pieces of business at any given time. When they are at events, they have spouses (who are just visitors). That means when they are in their functions, another portion of the group is out enjoying the rest of the destination.
“It also exposes the attendees to the destination as potential leisure guests.”
While Kern and his staff are confident the new hotel will make a great impression on guests, they’re also working to win over locals.
Despite the fact that the Embassy Suites replaces a rundown hotel that was harshly criticized by customers in its final years, there is still some animosity among residents about the size of the new structure as well as its aims to build a water park on the property and a pending lawsuit.
“As we welcome this new business into our tiny City, let’s keep in mind that one of their more welcoming first acts was to sue us,” wrote attorney Jane West of Jane West Law in a Facebook post on Friday. “Remember when the City denied their application to build a giant tacky splash park? Their response was to file a lawsuit. And you, as taxpayers, are paying for the defense of that ongoing litigation.
“So enjoy the grand opening, but if you have time, feel free to also watch the oral argument of this case. It’s scheduled for [Jan. 17 at 10 a.m.] before Judge Traynor in courtroom 305 ... Open to the public. Better yet, perhaps as a gesture of being a good community partner, Embassy should withdraw their case so we can truly celebrate?”
Litigation aside, Kern said there are efforts being made to assimilate into the neighborhood. Open houses are planned as early as this month.
He also points out that the hotel employees about 100 people who live in the area and likely will add 10-20 more seasonal workers during the busiest months. Hiring in the hospitality industry has been very competitive, but Kern said they’ve been pretty successful so far, even in a county with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.
“We want to be the employer of choice in town,” Kern said. “We want to create the right culture for people who want to work here, so we’ll have a fun, beach culture here.
“We think we did a great job in our hiring, but we still have more positions, so word will get out that this is a great place to work.”
1 comment:
Again...see post above...stupid in stupid out...its a Southern thing. Incompetent retarded ( and corrupt) elected officials allowing this.
Funny to watch as I couldn't care less...this isn't a true home..let them all smother themselves in traffic and pollution and the North wins again...yay!
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