June 20, 2007 — A Boston company hopes to place a 500-foot vessel on the Frederiksted Pier for use as a floating hotel.
"We were approached by some private interests," said Gene Hartigan, Shores Atlantic LLC partner.
Hartigan did not name the private interests, but said he was advised to send out a press release about the project to jump-start activities.
In April, Sen. Neville James requested that the Bureau of Economic Research conduct a feasibility study to determine whether a floating hotel made sense. James could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but in April he said he envisioned it would be used during events to provide additional hotel rooms.
The vessel would have to remain in place for the season, because it wouldn't be economically feasible to move it around on a regular basis, Hartigan said. He hasn't visited Frederiksted yet.
"If it's going down there, it's going down there to stay in high season," he said.
The floating hotel would have amenities like restaurants and entertainment. Hartigan said he envisions it being used for up to four years while hotels currently planned for St. Croix are under construction.
The vessel under consideration is now being used as a ferry in the Mediterranean, but has staterooms that can hold 720 people, he said. "But we have access to multiple vessels," he said.
The vessel's presence might foster an economic resurgence in Frederiksted, Hartigan said. "It can create opportunities," he said. Shores Atlantic LLC hasn't made a proposal to dock the ship at the Frederiksted Pier yet.
Frederiksted businessman Robert Merwin said there are pros and cons to the idea. While it might help Frederiksted's depressed economy, the floating hotel would compete for guests with the island's land-based hotels, he said.
Rick Carrington, a ship's agent in Frederiksted, agreed with Merwin's assessment of the impact on land-based hotels. Most of the island's 900 hotel rooms only run at an average 55 to 60 percent occupancy rate, he said.
Demand exceeds room capacity during peak periods like Christmas and the agriculture fair, so a floating hotel could be put to good use during those times, Merwin said. He and Carrington both noted that such a hotel could also be used to house people working on occasional projects at Hovensa. Recently, those workers occupied a good portion of St. Croix's hotel rooms while doing cleaning, inspection and repairs at the refinery.
Merwin predicts a slow summer once the temporary workers leave.
Owners of a floating hotel would have to comply with local labor and tax laws if the vessel were permanently based in the Virgin Islands, Carrington noted. If it only operated for up to three years while a development at William and Punch goes up, it could be a good idea, Merwin added.
A floating hotel could also serve as a hospitality-training school, Merwin said, but he questioned whether enough students would be interested in such careers to make it feasible. "There needs to be research done," he said.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
