How millions in state funds are resulting in hotel excess in Essex County
Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in the July/August 2024 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine. Since publication, the Saranac Waterfront Hotel has been sold. We’ve updated the story to reflect those changes.
By James M. Odato
State taxpayers have provided millions of dollars toward two new hotels in a key Adirondack tourism region. But now that they’re open, the occupancy numbers show the stimulus may be contributing to an oversupply of rooms, making it difficult for inn operators to profit.
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Every week thousands of beds lay empty in the key market of Essex County, data shows. The downward trend could benefit rate-shopping consumers, industry officials say. But market tensions may result in casualties as unprofitable properties fall to banks or close.
The impact isn’t clear, but if hotels deteriorate it can harm the guest experience and turn off tourists, tourism and event officials say. If occupancy rates remain low, hotels will be forced to take measures to stay afloat, such as cutting staff hours or services.
Even though hotels flashed no-vacancy signs in the days around the April 8 solar eclipse, occupancy for the first four months of this year dipped to lows that will push many operators toward the red, according to market data from Smith Travel Research (STR), a hotel benchmarking organization. The data showed an occupancy rate below 39% in Essex County, a key indicator of the region’s tourism market.
If Essex County is hurting, it points to wider troubles because the county benefits from Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) events that help drive customers to hotels in and around Lake Placid.
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The newest county hotels—recipients of millions of dollars of state investments—may be among the harder hit as per-room profits dip.
Falling profits
In Essex County average revenues per room fell to $80.56 in the first four months of 2024, down from $96.32 for the same period of 2023 and from $88.25 for the same period of 2022.
“There are so many more rooms,” said Andrew Weibrecht, operations manager for the 124-room Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, now in its 100th year. “It’s definitely very concerning from a staffing and a business point. There’s probably a breaking point somewhere. It’s really diluting the market for a lot of hotels that have been here for a long time.”
Among those in trouble, the recently sold Saranac Waterfront Lodge was shopped for sale since early spring, according to Weibrecht and several others.
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RELATED READING: Titus Mountain owners purchase Waterfront Lodge in Saranac Lake
The Green Bank, an arm of the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, invested $11.5 million in the lodge project to become an equity owner of Saranac Lake Resort Owner, which owns the lodge. Besides that public money, Champlain National Bank also committed $13 million.
With 93 rooms on Saranac Lake’s Lake Flower, the lodge opened in November 2020 with a goal of employing 71.
Manager Matthew Taormino said he could not discuss the property’s status. He referred questions to a director for HEI Hotels.
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HEI, the company managing the lodge, did not respond to messages. Green Bank said it does not discuss “confidential discussions” about its equity investments.
Grant projects
In Lake Placid, the 185-room Cambria Hotel received a $3 million state grant to help fund its opening in October 2023.
It has been offering below-market introductory rates ever since to build up its customer base, said Bhavik Jariwala, the managing member of the Cambria’s ownership group.
He said the Lake Placid property is the most challenging of seven run by his Matrix Hotels group, including hotels in Plattsburgh and Queensbury. He declined to reveal its occupancy rate.
The Cambria’s lower rates are disrupting the market, some hotel operators complain.
“Why are we giving properties in Lake Placid grants to build new hotels?” said Andrew Milne, owner of two small Saranac Lake motels and manager of The Devlin, a 51-room Lake Placid hotel.
A spokeswoman for Empire State Development said the Cambria project was worthy of funding to stimulate business in the area. “We helped refurbish a property that was vacant,” said Kristin Devoe. It is too soon to know if the Cambria will reach its goal of 51 employees, Devoe said.
Debating rates
Some criticize the Saranac Waterfront Lodge’s insistence in setting rates too high for the Saranac Lake market.
“They wanted overflow from Lake Placid,” said Mary Jane Lawrence, chief operating officer at the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) in Lake Placid. “That’s not sustainable. How often are Lake Placid hotels at 100 percent occupancy? Maybe a couple of times of year.”
David Roedel, a principal of Roedel Companies, owner of the 82-room Hotel Saranac since 2018, said the area needs to develop more events to drive traffic or hotels can’t make the economics work.
“We’ve come to realize it’s important to get that leisure traveler up to the Adirondacks, but you must have group events and must find ways to get more events,” he said. “Without that it’s always going to be a 40 percent market.”
Roedel said he doesn’t think short-term rental units are a big reason for the weak occupancy rates.
Data by STR indicates an ample supply of rooms—more than 2,700 at Essex County’s 70 hotel properties, including the Saranac Waterfront Lodge and Cambria. The supply may be at record levels, said ROOST’s Lawrence.
A downtick in demand
Available rooms in March and April 2024 were up almost 12% from a year earlier. Demand was trending down—a negative 2.2% for the first four months—and might have been a greater dip if not for solar eclipse traffic in April.
Yet year-to-date and 12-month data pointed to a troubling trend of demand dropping and occupancy rates down by double-digit percentages.
Hotel revenues fuel tourism marketing programs and organizations like ROOST through the occupancy taxes.
Those taxes declined in Essex County, despite the Lake Placid World University Games filling many rooms in January 2023.
“Bed taxes” were at $6.75 million in 2023, $6.8 million in 2022 and $6.59 million in 2021. In Franklin County, with fewer beds, such taxes grew—$1.17 million in 2023, $1 million in 2022 and $969,236 in 2021, yet hotel demand is down this year, according to Franklin County’s economic development officer, Jeremy Evans.
If the weather sours—a concern associated with climate change—it could add to the challenge of attracting tourists who scout conditions before booking, some in the industry point out.
Drawing tourists and workers
One common worry: the competition for workers.
The bigger hotels in Lake Placid have arranged lodging for their staff, many of whom come from outside the region, some under federal visas for foreign workers.
“There’s always going to be labor challenges,” said Jariwala, of the Cambria. “There’s got to be some large workforce housing projects subsidized by the state.”
ROOST’s Lawrence said it is developing a more targeted and strategic tourism marketing program based on greater research on visitor interests. The goal is to help drive hotel traffic by building around competitions hosted by ORDA and events that can’t be harmed by unfavorable weather. “I’d like to have a simple solution to this, but there are things working against us,” Lawrence said, including inflation and weather.
“What can we develop long term, which is not climate sensitive?” she said. “Is it breweries, wineries, museums, arts, indoor activities?”
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This article first appeared in a recent issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine.
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No mention on the impact of short term rentals on hotel occupancy? It has to be a factor. It’s a simple formula, more beds for the same number of visitors equals reduced profit per bed.
Not to mention the socio/economic impact of short term rentals.
I don’t stay in hotels anymore when traveling. Why stay in a hotel room when I can stay in a house, cook my own meals if I choose, much more relaxing than a hotel. Especially when traveling with kids. Not sure why anyone would choose a hotel over an Airbnb
You missed Roedel’s (Hotel Saranac) statement downplaying the impact of STRs. Still, why pay $350-$450/night for a hotel used only for sleeping? Particularly in today’s economy? I also believe too many people, ROOST included, overestimated the need based on the COVID-driven occupancy numbers.
The people in the Saranac Area are some of the most aggressive, inhospitable people you can meet in the entire country. I said it. You want to know why the tourism is not doing well, it’s because of the “locals” and their hatred for “outsiders,” even people who live locally in Saranac who don’t fit the Saranac largely WHITE mold. Several years ago the young valedictorian of Saranac Lake HS described the racism she experienced in the town as a Chinese person. Tourists, who have money to travel, usually are more educated, open minded, and diverse. People in Saranac drive around with “ADK native” on their bumpers. Like, no, you’re not native. Learn about history and inclusivity. Recognize you’re lucky if people visit Saranac Lake, it’s not Jackson Hole or Aspen. A true hatred for the very people driving the economy of Saranac exists here, and you think tourists don’t know or feel it? No diversity, very little culture. Empty store fronts all throughout Saranac, drug problems, crime problems, businesses that don’t know how to operate, restaurants that can’t hire decent workers or cook decent food, dusty and old decaying buildings. People used to ride the train to Saranac from Placid and were met with contempt, nowhere to go, and nothing to do. So far the rail trail isn’t even fully operational, years later. The connecting towns refuse to participate in welcoming. And that’s how the “locals” like it. The town could be nice, but right now it’s an embarrassment to drive through thanks to some small minded people who themselves never travel the world, so don’t understand the concept of hospitality.
The difference between a thriving community and a dying community is often simply attitude. Vote locally like it matters – because it does.
“Diversity” stems from unique cultures. The North Country and Adirondacks have their own unique culture. Injecting outside culture can be good, but to call it inherently racist is naive and as uninteresting as the usual race baiting conversation.
I love the slow pace and connection to nature the community has. It’s a harmony you don’t get in much of the rest of the state, and that’s the vibe the community would like to preserve. I think the pushback on outsiders mainly stems from an urge to change this fundamental nature of the community, as people from other regions tend to bring the hustle along with them, for better or worse.
It’s not always about race. It’s about life and the struggles of community preservation in the face of a more rigorously demanding economy. Keep the ADKs as they are and find ways to improve life for all of those that live here.
Well said, yes! It’s always easier to make a group of people into villians. That way, no real work needs to take place to actually improve the situation.
We are seeing this played out over and over, constantly with every real issue.
Then people wonder why nothing gets better, but increasingly worse.
I don’t know where you dined, but you must have not tried very hard to find a good meal in Schroon Lake. I’ve had many good meals there over the years. And, I’m not a Schroon Lake booster or resident, I live at the other end of Essex County.
Also, if you expect downtown Schroon Lake to have the vibe of a mid-size or even small city, you have over the top unrealistic expectations.
There’s a well thought adage about traveling that applies to your rant: If you want things to be just like your home…stay home.
My husband and I are as “diverse” as you get. We visit the area at least two times per year. We’ve never been treated poorly, ever, by locals. However, what we have been seeing more of is an increase in people visiting the area who are less than respectful to the people and places they visit.
Quite frankly, we are tired of hearing that everything that’s a problem is due to racism and intolerance. That’s an excuse not to resolve the underlying issues. It’s one that many fall for over and over.
The plan was for the banks to get the property all along. Don’t think so, look around, open your eyes.
Even though we have a blessed income, we don’t feel that the prices for a room are justified. The money never gets to those who need it most, deserve it the most. The hardest working people cleaning the rooms, providing good service, experience.
Guess what, white people aren’t the enemy. It’s the very few at the very top making slaves of us all, no matter what color we are or where we come from. They want to take from and use us all.
If that’s not obvious at this point then I’m surely wasting my effort right now!
Wake up sheeple!
Interesting question in the last paragraph. It could be breweries- look at Vermont’s brewery tourism. We have breweries but the problem is the quality of beer. Vermont has world class breweries that attract people from… all over the world.
Our breweries need to put out a better product to attract people for what their main business is supposed to be. The restaurant focus rather than the beer side seems to be hurting some of the ADK breweries. Make it about the beer first and people will come. Nobody cares about mediocre beer paired with mediocre food, you can find that anywhere.
Indeed. Think about “Bourbon Tours” and “Winery Tours” elsewhere moving tourists throughout a region, not just a town. We need some of that thinking.
Enforce a blood alcohol minimum of 0.10 to boost the brewery business…
This is a problem for local communities given that these newer hotels were given tax breaks so they could develop run hotels. Here in Schroon Lake we have the Lodge at Schroon Lake which the developers were given a major tax break and now after 14 months and on their third management team they still have not reached the numbers to carry the operational cost. If and when they finally decide that it no longer makes sense to continue the operation, what then, condo’s, town homes or bankruptcy, again the town suffers. It seems that these developers didn’t do their homework.
I travelled to Schroon Lake this summer with my daughter for some hiking in the high peaks. It’s a beautiful area, but as a visitor it was pricey for the amenities that the town offered. Restaurants were mediocre and not much going on in the downtown. We try to support the local economy when we travel, but a lot of the businesses had less than friendly staff.
I don’t know where you dined, but you must have not tried very hard to find a good meal in Schroon Lake. I’ve had many good meals there over the years. And, I’m not a Schroon Lake booster or resident, I live at the other end of Essex County.
Also, if you expect downtown Schroon Lake to have the vibe of a mid-size or even small city, you have over the top unrealistic expectations.
We are seeing this in many communities. Our tax dollars go to a few people at the top at the cost of hard working citizens. I used to travel often but not so much now because everywhere I go I see new construction of unaffordable places while the streets and parks are full of homeless people.
The homeless population is at an astonishing all time high, while they enormous, fancy hotels are going up all around.
Millions of people are losing their own homes, due to taxes. How are they going to afford to go stay at an overpriced hotel?
No one is this dumb, they know what they’re doing, and it’s quite terrifying. It doesn’t matter who we vote for it doesn’t seem. The national debt increases regardless. For the same reason our tax dollars get spent on anything that doesn’t improve the the lives and communities of those who pay them.
Very interesting
I found The people in the finger lakes very nice and hospitable.
We come from Ohio every other year with kids and grandkids via house rental. We skipped this time to try a WV resort that offered 4 bedroom cottages on the property near the lodge building. Does the ADKs offer anything like that?
Quite a few actually. Insert “lodge and resort” into your search terms.
There’s a well thought adage about traveling that applies to your rant: If you want things to be just like your home…stay home.
We have had a summer off water camp in Old Forge since 1983; for the first time in a very long time there are “vacancy” signs around during the middle of the summer, very concerning. I do know that there are dozens of STR in the Old Forge area that probably take away renters from the local motels, but the village itself is visibly not as crowded as in the past, I think people have a lot of uncertainty about the economy.
Alot of downstate travelers, which we endearingly label as ‘cidiots’ are rude, elitist, entitled and downright unpleasant and disrespectful to the community and the property. I live in Saratoga Springs and travel to this area multiple times a year for visits that range from a few nights to two weeks. I have seen this idiocy with my own eyes time and time again. Treat people the way you’d like to be treated. Or, even better, bother the Catskills with your incessant blathering and disrespect. You get what you give up here, remember that!
Well said, as a resident of Saratoga, you would well know about rude, arrogant, elitist visitors. And how these same people, snap up properties there, drive up the cost of living and then moan and whine there’s no help to cater to their whims,
Yes yes yes. True. It’s what is taking quality of life away from the average person. Everywhere.
I’ve come to rely on the deep-dive reporting about Adirondack issues by Jim Odato. This story is no exception, and it should be of concern to all of us. Jim writes; “State taxpayers have provided millions of dollars toward two new hotels in a key Adirondack tourism region. But now that they’re open, the occupancy numbers show the stimulus may be contributing to an oversupply of rooms.”
Jim further notes:”The impact isn’t clear, but if hotels deteriorate it can harm the guest experience and turn off tourists, tourism and event officials say. If occupancy rates remain low, hotels will be forced to take measures to stay afloat, such as cutting staff hours or services.”
I am pondering Jim’s words after digesting several earlier stories about the urgent need for affordable housing. We have to keep and attract more young people here to fill essential jobs in our businesses, and to be the next generation ofl volunteers for our emergency services and community activities all across the Adirondacks.
How is it that we keep investing so much in new hotel construction that may be doing more harm than good, while we continue to stiff-arm our affordable housing needs? Last fall, at The Wild Center, Regional Planner Allison Gaddy said we need 7500 new housing units in 4 counties, and an additional 20,000 “housing interventions”. She also said that a typical Adk. household income “falls $80,000 short ” to buy a typical home. If you do the math, it just doesn’t compute with the paltry dribbles of affordable housing being created.
These numbers do not bode well for the sustainable Adirondack future that we all want.. How many hotels have to fail? How many schools have to turn their lights out? How long can our fire departments and ambulance squads respond adequately without more young people in our communities? Ms. Gaddy asks the million dollar question: “Can something be done in time?”
Thanks Jim. Thanks Explorer.
I can’t help but notice all the old derelict motels, restaurants, etc left behind to weather away from a bygone era when families used to travel by trains and by car to vacation in the Adirondacks. I just recently watched old vintage footage of the Old Frontiertown in Scroon Lake for a good case in point. We’re in very financially troubled times for the average middle class in America and NYS seems to be struggling with its budget yet again. The cost of groceries has risen this past year in leaps and bounds for just an example. Times are uncertain for many people financially. I’m sure many, many people would enjoy taking a vacation to The Adirondacks but they just afford it.
Lol… government intervention distorts markets d00ds
The town has drastically changed, and for the worse, in the past 15 years. Prices have skyrocketed, the scope of amenities don’t match the prices, and after 40+ years of going there we are no longer made to feel welcome. The ticket happy cops are also a bad look for the area. This summer, for the first time, I spent some of the $10000/yr. I normally spend in the Adirondacks on a hiking trip to Switzerland.
The town of Lake Placid couldn’t cope with the tourists before – why did they encourage more construction?
You reap what you sow, folks.
You missed Roedel’s (Hotel Saranac) statement downplaying the impact of STRs. Still, why pay $350-$450/night for a hotel used only for sleeping? Particularly in today’s economy? I also believe too many people, ROOST included, overestimated the need based on the COVID-driven occupancy numbers.
Seems to me that the problem may be of expectations. Someone mentioned this isn’t Jackson Hole or Aspen, which is true, and thank goodness. The Adirondacks are much more than that.
The Adirondack region has one thing that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the country, one thing that is rare, highly valued and a world class attraction. But, for some reason, the park denizens (in partnership with outside developers) are continuously running from the attraction, trying to be something it’s not, for a demographic the area can’t and won’t satisfy.
As my son recently said, during a trip out west, “the Adirondacks are different, it’s a crazy protected wilderness with trails everywhere.” The point is, the ADKs are the only place in the lower 48 where one can go and obtain an unbroken view, free of clear cuts and to do so, all alone. The park does not cater to wealthy visitors who’d like to be pampered with services. That’s what Jackson Hole, cruises and the Appalachians are for. It caters to adventure seekers, outdoor enthusiasts, backcountry travelers and family campers. I.E. people who aren’t looking for a room or a spa day or a winery.
I’d suggest if the local entrepreneurs and economic boosters would embrace the strength of the Adirondacks and begin catering to the needs of folks who enjoy the Adirondacks for what they are, they might be more successful.
People come to the Adirondacks for the wilderness experience, not to stay in hotels commonly found at interstate highway exits.
Localities and politicians have for too long employed the phiosophy of “build it and they will come” based on the nearly limitless supply of tourists during the heyday of Baby Boomers. Among other things, the Adirondacks seemed to hold a special appeal to Boomers, then their kids. With climate changing, families changing, disposable income changing, infrastructure changing, and tourists’ expectations changing, the “build it” mentality now shows serious flaws. Developers always paint a rosy picture, but are long gone when the results come in – typically building somewhere else. We all need to do our homework a little better.
Overtourism is a huge culprit here. We’ve all read about it as a global problem – in our National Parks, at Mt. Fiji, in the city of Venice where they’ve had to resort to charging an entry fee because no actual Venetians can live there anymore (it’s become a tourist theme park), in the Swiss Alps where I have 40 years of personal experience watching the gradual degradation to rural cantons by overtourism, vandalism of unique cultural and natural monuments around the world, harassment of wildlife…it goes on.
We need to get off the tourism crack and diversify the economy so that people can afford to LIVE here. Yes tourism is an important part of our economy. But organizations like ROOST and others who funnel my tax-dollars to for-profit tourism oriented businesses which provide lousy service jobs that won’t feed a family or pay a mortgage do not raise the quality of life for local residents. And many of these businesses indeed FAIL. You can hardly keep up with the turnover of shops in Placid. Constantly chasing government grants for tourism dollars is not working for the quality of life. I am not a native. Only been here for 25 years.
Vintage clothing shops, souvenir shops, and art galleries are cute but they do not provide livable wages with health insurance or paid leave benefits. And that’s coming from someone in academics with degrees in the artsy-fartsy humanities that gave me a 25 year college teaching career – nothing against art and culture (quite the contrary) but we need to get some economic and social balance here. I don’t have the skills or knowledge to court other types of industry (scientific research? Trade schools? Renewable energy? I.T. consulting?), but we need industries other than tourism. People simply cannot afford to live here otherwise.
The Adirondacks have become an environmental Disneyland. It’s ruining lands and waters, there is little real “wilderness” left, and traffic has exploded to where locals can’t go to their favorite trail or lake on a weekend for lack of parking.
The Saranac Waterfront Lodge was a corrupt operation from the beginning. We all knew it was too big and that rules were bent by State agencies to allow that monstrosity to be built on the lake shore. ( Look up “regulatory capture.”). It’s a financial shell game that is profiting the corporate owners. They do not give a single damn about local jobs.
An out-of-control housing crisis due to the overabundance of short term rentals makes it impossible for sorely needed nurses, teachers, administrators, hotel managers, grocery store workers to even think about settling here, exacerbating the labor crisis. Schools are closing. We are already talking about closing yet another school in the Saranac Lake School District because enrollment is in free fall. Soon other essential public services will disappear because of the lack of a permanent local population.
We need to do better. Waiting tables, cleaning rooms, working retail in a souvenir shop, etc. do not provide secure employment.
I also agree that there is a certain sector of the local population that is hostile to “outsiders” Even people like me who, even after 25 years living here and having put a child through the school system, are barely considered local – never mind “native.” That being said, as a local resident who moved here for the quality of life for our family, I am definitely beginning to resent the exponential increase in tourism traffic – because even if only 1 out of 100 tourists is disrespectful and obnoxious and craps all over the forest preserve with garbage and harasses wildlife, if you have a hundred thousand visitors in raw numbers in any given place, that adds up to a lot of damage.
“There is little real “wilderness” left” is completely false but, that’s okay, it will only stay that way if people keep concentrating on the front facing areas — which are of course getting destroyed as if the ecosystem is, like you said, Disneyland.
“Waiting tables, cleaning rooms, working retail in a souvenir shop, etc. do not provide secure employment.” I think this is true, but maybe the sights are too low. There should be opportunities for entrepreneurial folks that don’t require developers and catering to the wealthy. I just don’t think there is any focus on anything other than “make someone else rich quick” ideas.
But finally, to the heart of it is the affordable housing issue. People get by all over the country waiting tables and cleaning rooms where there is somewhere to live on that type of employment. Maybe a few of these hotels should be repurposed into apartments.
I am a FIRM believer that the reasons why beds are empty in the ADK has to do with the lack of welcoming tourists to your area. I’m going to use my Schroon Lake trip from July this year as example. The town definitely is not for welcoming tourists in by any means. The parking is scarce and so are the activities to do. Within a half hour, you have visited all the shops and unless you want to sit belly up at the bar, that’s all there is to do.
With that, we stayed at the “Resort” known as the Lodge at Schroon Lake. They seem to think that mini golf and story time in the lobby is all that families want. Their pool was “out of order” while we were there as well as hot tub. The game room of pool tables and shuffle boards, that isn’t for kids. Then their restaurant has a mediocre menu for families. Not only was the service eh, but the food was poor as well, especially for a resort. When I think of resort, I think of elevated service and finer touches on things. The menu was straight out of the Chef’s home kitchen, no flavor and overcooked short ribs.
There was no place anywhere near for true dining on the water, no signage, no events other than square dancing on the town lawn. Let’s face it, this is not a tourist destination. It is sad to see places call themselves “resorts” and towns that don’t support tourism.
Ashley, I understand your disappointment, but in the Adirondacks, which tend to be a place for backcountry hiking, camping, paddling and fishing, “resort” can mean different things. As a rule the Adirondacks are decidedly more rustic than luxury ski resorts like Aspen, CO or St. Moritz, Switzerland. My daughter is about to be married at a local “resort” which is on a lake and quite rustic indeed. No hot tubs or pools – just a beautiful, lovely setting for an outdoor wedding for people who enjoy that experience. They don’t need lots of structured kid activities there because the families are likely paddling or swimming on the lake, or hiking a nearby trail. The accommodations are in Adirondack decor – lots of twig work and birch bark. We have some posh resorts, to be sure, but by and large if you are looking for luxury accommodations and Michelin star cuisine, those types of places are few and far between in the Adirondacks.
I want to add a general comment here – I am not completely against all tourism. After all, I am a traveler, which makes me a tourist sometimes too. But I am still for putting limitations on the control the tourism industry has worldwide, even if it means I can’t get a vacation rental in exactly the place or time I would like. I’m willing to have to adjust my plans in order to a)avoid the crowds myself and b) not contribute to the complete decimation of residential communities. Granted, a lot of our jobs are government jobs. But that alone can’t sustain a community. If the Adirondacks keep on the current trajectory, all we’ll have left are hotels, souvenir shops, second homeowners and retirees. Overdevelopment for tourism dollars is killing communities. Schools close. Other public services follow. There is no affordable housing for middle class families, which is needed to fill those essential government jobs. We have a problem. I don’t want my community to turn into Lake George.
When the NYC mayor and the Governor get wind of all the available hotel rooms up there in the Adirondacks keep an eye out for buses suddenly appearing in the middle of the night.
In other articles people are complaining about how the area appears overrun with tourists? Which is it? The last few years are indicative of nothing. People who would travel internationally could not during the pandemic they are now to make up for it. I would wait, and get a pulse once things normalize.
I was in an INFO station and a man came in a bit in a huff extremely disappointed he, claimed, that they were charging $500.00 a night for a hotel room and ended up staying in a hostel that’s why he came down our way, towards Rome Utica. I have no idea if its true or not. But it can’t help.
I found the folks in Saranac Lake friendly, but the “brand name” hotel chain we stayed at in SL smelled musty and turned out to have bed bugs. Can’t get the management to respond to my emails now. I won’t be returning.
The Adirondacks are and have always been a bit on the rustic side. Glitzy hotels operate at their own peril. You want quaint, go to Vermont. You want glitz, go to Sun Valley. If you want beautiful trails and world class paddling, come to the Adirondacks.
Are locals grumpy sometimes? Well, imagine being treated like a servant enough times to make your hackles pop up when a visitor interactions go south. The downside of a tourist based economy is the assumption that the customer is always right. This creates a significant cultural/class divide that erodes the mutual respect that must exist for meaningful interactions between locals and visitors.
Right on Todd. The Adirondacks are not glitzy or luxurious, by nature. And, this is a global problem. It’s getting more and more press. anyone who reads knows about this issue.
Overtourism is absolutely degrading the quality of life for permanent residents. It doesn’t mean there should be no tourism at all. It just means we need better balance. I travel quite a bit which makes me a tourist sometimes too. I’m all for world travel. It opens minds and expands our horizons. But we need some guardrails to maintain the quality of life for permanent residents so we aren’t squeezed out of our own communities because of overdevelopment.
I believe that over the last 20 years, social media is the biggest culprit in the rapid and continued explosion in tourism traffic, environmental degradation in places like the Adks, bloated housing prices, and overdevelopment that results in problems like the one described in this article. This is unsustainable and unhealthy for EVERYONE. There is absolutely nothing “sustainable” about ROOST and its ilk.
This is a great article in a number of ways. Some of us who have connections to Lake Placid going back to the 1960’s (and have seen big changes since the demise of the old LP Club and other properties) but also have lived and worked in the marketing industry up here in Lake Placid/Saranac region in recent years (and spend time in summers here) have watched with a skeptical eye about some of the properties that have been bought, remodeled or newly developed. Hotel Saranac (once a Paul Smith’s College run training hotel) was the first huge investment in an old property in Saranac Lake that I wondered about. Classic old hotel bones, location in town, there were questions I had about the amount of money being invested in a hotel with no waterfront and no pool. Not sure how it’s doing financially but I know locals love it, and the bar is fun. The hotel on Lake Flower, IMO, was a bigger gamble. Turns out too big a gamble. Buying up several older properties, tearing them down and building new from scratch is not cheap. I remember seeing the prices after they opened and my immediate reaction was, “this isn’t Lake Placid” so you are way overpriced for the location. People love the ability to walk around Mirror Lake and go to the many shops, restaurants, bars, etc. in the village of LP. I agree that many who stay in short term Air BnB rentals are not taking a lot of business away from hotels because many tourists still want services and location that hotels offer. That said, price, amenities, location, etc. do play an important part of the value for the dollar. Cambria was another big gamble due to its location on Lake Placid. There is a significant difference between being on the lake like LP Lodge and Whiteface Club and Cambria lakefront. And as I mentioned before when you buy an existing property and tear it down to build from scratch, it’s a lot more investment from the start. As ROOST COO pointed out, there are very few times when 100% occupancy in Lake Placid sends overflow to Saranac Lake, and I’d say the same goes for in town LP hotels. If you can stay in a nicer hotel with a better location for a few dollars more, why would you pick a lesser location? There’s an old joke in property sales, “what are the 3 most important aspects of real estate? Location, location, location!” And now climate change and weather is also playing a bigger role annually. I live in Lake George year round and the lake has not frozen over the last 2 years, snow melts due to rain are a regular problem, so indoor events like hockey, figure skating, and other events like concerts, conferences and special events are more important than ever. Luckily Lake Placid has those types of facilities. Bottom line, if you build it, just be sure you don’t invest too much upfront, because they might not come! Just remember, the original “luxury winter resort” concept basically started with the old Lake Placid Club. The wealth (especially the big, old money families) is still here and mostly low profile for a reason. If you want glitz and glamour, try Aspen or Vail. New money in Telluride is off the charts! Parking places for private jets is at a premium in Colorado. Not so much here. I hope all the hospitality properties make it, I just wish that some of the bigger investors would look to Tupper Lake and other parts of the park to help develop year round tourism and employment for locals who choose to live and raise families here for the quality of life they can live in this amazing park.
I’m old enough to remember when public and private investment in development projects was based on actual market studies.
There was the philosophy “build it and they will come.”