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No inn with a rooom
?Mayor Bob Shepherd is quoted in our cover story on the possible upcoming “bed & breakfast” regulations, as saying that a relaxation of restrictions on B&Bs in the township is essential because the possibility of ever attracting a hotel to Uxbridge is “remote”.
But what does “remote” mean? For that matter, what does “hotel” mean?
Uxbridge Chamber of Commerce President Ian Giffin, who has been working on an informal committee with Township and Durham Region staff (also including local business people), says their investigations have focused on a hotel of about 50 rooms. For such a business to be viable over the long run, Mr. Giffin says it would have to average about 65% capacity, or 32.5 rooms occupied per night, over an entire year. If you do the math, that’s almost 12,000 rooms occupied in 12 months. If that’s what we’re looking at, no wonder they’re using the word “remote”.
You might be able to fill 32 rooms, probably 50 rooms, during some of the summer events like Ribfest or the Highland Games. Heck, you could probably fill them with the participants, let alone the visitors. You might be able to average 32 from May to October, with all the family members visiting us who currently have to stay in other towns. But how about the dark days of January or February? The Uxbridge Skating Club recently brought over 300 competitors for a regional competition at the Arena. But that’s one event.
To some extent, the principle of “If you build it, they will come” applies. The existence of a hotel might prompt local groups to hold more events for out-of-towners, events they’re reluctant to develop when there’s no place for people to stay. But that’s a bit of a risk for a hotel-builder to take. Based on present visitor patterns, chances of a 50-room hotel succeeding are indeed “remote”.
But what makes 50 a magic number? Why not build a 15 or 20-unit motel, for instance? Not many decades ago, Uxbridge had several successful “inns”; none of them had 50 rooms. Wooden Sticks has essentially a six-room motel on site now, theoretically open to the public, with two major restrictions: a very high price tag, and only a seven-month season. So it’s not a fair test. But we’d suggest a year-round, high-quality motel on the outskirts of town could do very well indeed.
One local businessman we spoke to, who is financially capable of erecting a 20-unit motel, said the Township would never allow such a business in its zoning, because its existence would compromise the future possibility of a larger hotel. Mr. Giffin admits as much; the building of a motel or small “inn” would probably quash any dream of a Marriott or Days Inn.
But if such a hotel is a pipe dream anyhow, isn’t something better than nothing? Local residents are weary of sending their parents or friends to Port Perry, Stouffville or Whitby because the few local B&Bs are full. And if we’re ever going to be serious about fostering a tourist industry, good, reasonably-priced visitor accommodation is essential. It’s time to stop reaching for the sky and make a more modest project possible. A great number of local groups and businesses, who depend on visitors for their bottom line, have waited far too long.
