by Marissa Eusebio, KUAM News Monday, February 23, 2004 E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

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It's been a long road to recovery for the island's leading industry. Over the past several years tourism has taken some of the hardest hits, resulting in what tourism officials describe as some of the slowest and roughest of times the industry has ever experienced. 

However more recently with visitor arrivals on the rise, it's evident that areas like Tumon have bounced back from those trying times, returning to the flourishing hub it has always been known for - the streets lined with tourists and buses and taxis zipping through. 

It appears that along with the revival of Guam's leading industry will be the rise of a couple new hotels. 

There's no question that Guam's tourism industry is on the rise. After hitting rock-bottom as a result of natural disasters like Supertyphoon Pongsona and other global events like the onset of war, 9/11 and the SARS outbreak, there wasn't anywhere else the island's primary industry could really go besides up. But while it's been a slow, steady climb, the recovery is something that has now drawn Starwood Hotels (which owns chains including the Westin Hotel) to initiate discussions on further investing in Guam's economy. 

General managers and marketing directors from Japan, Korea and Guam met today for a Starwood area meeting. It's the first time the meeting has ever been held on island, and according to Starwood Hotel's Asia-Pacific vice president for Japan, Korea and Guam Akio Hirao, he was most anxious to talk about the upcoming investments in Guam. 

“Guam is ideal for having a few great brands like W or The Sheraton in the future. So I'm very interested in discussing with folks, but I'm positively looking for the opportunity in Guam,” he told KUAM News. 

While the Sheraton Hotel is probably a name that many people are familiar with, the new line of W hotels may not be as widely recognized. Hirao says it's the latest concept of hotel design that is quickly gaining popularity worldwide. With locations spanning from North America to Australia, he explains that the hotel is geared toward younger generations...as it steers away from the traditional appearance of hotels and is marketed with a hipper, more contemporary look. 

“We don't call the lobby a lobby, it's a living room. And everything we use is very contemporary name and a contemporary design. And we don't have people with ties...most people are without ties,” Hirao explained. 

Some of the areas that Starwood is looking into for the construction of new hotels includes the location where the Fujita Hotel once operated. Other venues being considered are those that are no longer operating like the Tropicana Hotel, which closed down in January of 2001, and even the Sherwood Hotel, which closed later that year in May. 

Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association president Dave Tydingco points out the reason these hotels had to shut down was because of the industry's 43% rise in hotel room numbers from 1995 to 1999 compared to the declining percentage of visitor arrivals. But as the industry now appears to be gaining ground, Tydingco says he's confident that the prospective investments of Starwood Hotels is something that will not be in vain. 

“There's no question we have faith in the long-term prospects for Guam's future. Now we're seeing investors coming here and taking a look that now it's maybe time to put money back into this economy,” he said. 

In the meantime, if you're wondering exactly when you can expect to see either a new Sheraton or W Hotel on the streets of Tumon, the deadline is slated for sometime in 2006.