By David F. Rooney
Powder Springs Inn may be in receivership but it’s maintaining a “business as usual” attitude, says General Manager Emma Kirkland.
The hotel declared bankruptcy on February 25 and it approximately 50 staff were told the following day, she said in an interview on Tuesday, March 18.
“We told the staff what was going on but assured them that no one was being laid off. It’s business as usual.”
FTI Consulting Canada was appointed on February 27 to act as the receiver, said Kirkland.
“They want everything to go through them and at some point the hotel may go up for sale,” she said.
The hotel, which is owned by Brydon and Jason, owes a substantial but undisclosed amount of money after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars building its very popular pub, The Last Drop, and renovating rooms and public spaces.
“We’ve been talking to investors for three years and it’s not easy to get anyone to invest in this economy,” she said, adding that the situation was also aggravated by high municipal taxes seasonal slumps in the spring and fall.
Kirkland said the hotel’s owners did everything by the book but still found themselves in trouble. In the meantime Powder Springs remains open for business.
There are other changes looming for the local business community with the Revelstoke Lodge and Benoit’s Wine Bar both being offered for sale. And as everyone knows there are a number of empty storefronts downtown.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Revelstoke Museum & Archives have been working together to place historic photographic displays in many of those vacant spaces.
That’s a fine stop-gap measure, but Revelstoke needs new investment, new businesses and seamless economic progress.
