Global planning hotel to tap resort's growth
But the hotels group needs to clear a final hurdle before it can begin building in this resort which is making a bid to host the winter 2006 Olympics. The company must still nail down final agreements with a primary investor and the owner of the land where the hotel would be located, said Maciej Herbich, Global Hotels' managing director.
"The company that is the investor is wavering over whether to realize this or not," Herbich said. He would not reveal the investor's name or country base. "We already have the site," Herbich added. "We hope to start this spring."
But Global is not alone in spying opportunity in this resort area in the Tatra mountains located near the Slovak border. Zakopane Mayor Adam Bachleda-Curus said that in addition to Global, two other investors have expressed interest to local officials in building a hotel in the city.
"There are negotiations being held with two entities," Bachleda-Curus said. "But this is a long-term process. They still need to purchase a site and come up with a long-term business plan."
If Global is successful in Zakopane, the new hotel would add to a slowly growing list of sites that Global is moving on around Poland. Next month, the company plans to open a Holiday Inn in Gdansk and a hotel is under construction in Wroclaw.
The $15 million, 140 room hotel in Zakopane will be a "recreational Holiday Inn" for "people who are coming to relax," Herbich said. Facilities will include a swimming pool and tennis court, but the hotel will also provide business-oriented guests with conference rooms, he added.
The purchased site for the hotel is on ul. Dolina Koscieliska in downtown Zakopane, he said. Herbich suggested the investor may be concerned the Zakopane project will be too much in the background of other ongoing investments.
"The Olympics definitely have an influence on this," Herbich said, adding that even Zakopane's candidacy has brought the town onto the international map.
If Zakopane fails in its Olympic bid, the publicity surrounding it could help to draw additional Polish and foreign tourists to its ski slopes and add impetus for more federal infrastructure funds. This could spell huge opportunity for hotel operators. Zakopane's accommodation infrastructure is woefully lacking. The town has only one four-star hotel. Most rooms are in pensions or houses.
This has led other operators besides Global to take note of the town and its tourism prospects, said Adam Bachleda-Curus, Zakopane's mayor. Zakopane currently is host to an annual 4.5 million tourists, Bachleda-Curus said. While 70% of these mountain-loving guests come in the summer, 200,000 to 300,000 guests were in Zakopane over New Year's, he added.
Hotel operators are placing increased emphasis on the tourism-rich area of southeastern Poland. Sheraton, which currently has only the Sheraton Warsaw Hotel and Towers, has been eyeing Krakow. The company, although in talks there, has yet to finalize an agreement on a site or a developer. (See also CBP, November 1998)
"The company that is the investor is wavering over whether to realize this or not," Herbich said. He would not reveal the investor's name or country base. "We already have the site," Herbich added. "We hope to start this spring."
But Global is not alone in spying opportunity in this resort area in the Tatra mountains located near the Slovak border. Zakopane Mayor Adam Bachleda-Curus said that in addition to Global, two other investors have expressed interest to local officials in building a hotel in the city.
"There are negotiations being held with two entities," Bachleda-Curus said. "But this is a long-term process. They still need to purchase a site and come up with a long-term business plan."
If Global is successful in Zakopane, the new hotel would add to a slowly growing list of sites that Global is moving on around Poland. Next month, the company plans to open a Holiday Inn in Gdansk and a hotel is under construction in Wroclaw.
The $15 million, 140 room hotel in Zakopane will be a "recreational Holiday Inn" for "people who are coming to relax," Herbich said. Facilities will include a swimming pool and tennis court, but the hotel will also provide business-oriented guests with conference rooms, he added.
The purchased site for the hotel is on ul. Dolina Koscieliska in downtown Zakopane, he said. Herbich suggested the investor may be concerned the Zakopane project will be too much in the background of other ongoing investments.
"The Olympics definitely have an influence on this," Herbich said, adding that even Zakopane's candidacy has brought the town onto the international map.
If Zakopane fails in its Olympic bid, the publicity surrounding it could help to draw additional Polish and foreign tourists to its ski slopes and add impetus for more federal infrastructure funds. This could spell huge opportunity for hotel operators. Zakopane's accommodation infrastructure is woefully lacking. The town has only one four-star hotel. Most rooms are in pensions or houses.
This has led other operators besides Global to take note of the town and its tourism prospects, said Adam Bachleda-Curus, Zakopane's mayor. Zakopane currently is host to an annual 4.5 million tourists, Bachleda-Curus said. While 70% of these mountain-loving guests come in the summer, 200,000 to 300,000 guests were in Zakopane over New Year's, he added.
Hotel operators are placing increased emphasis on the tourism-rich area of southeastern Poland. Sheraton, which currently has only the Sheraton Warsaw Hotel and Towers, has been eyeing Krakow. The company, although in talks there, has yet to finalize an agreement on a site or a developer. (See also CBP, November 1998)
