After 43 years, Hyatt Regency Saipan announced it will be closing its doors on June 30.

The President of Saipan Portopia Corporation, which owns the hotel, Hitoshi Nakauchi said in a statement, “Despite our best efforts and after months of careful consideration and exploring many avenues, the harsh realities of the current landscape have forced us to make the difficult decision to close this special place…”

It comes two years after they renewed their public land lease with the CNMI government for 40 years.

NMI Governor Arnold Palacios commented on the news after a proclamation signing ceremony for Tourism Month.

“This is very unfortunate, disappointed, saddened at the same time,” said Gov. Palacios.

He said he learned about the closure at the same time as the public.

Palacios added, “We're going to have to pick up the pieces and move forward. What are our options? We're going to have to clearly and deliberately identify those.”

The Governor said his legal counsel, the Attorney General, and the Department of Public Lands are mapping out the next steps as they review the lease agreement. Palacios also instructed the Department of Labor to assist hotel employees in the transition.

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Chris Concepcion explained the state of the industry during the proclamation event.

“We still have less than half the total number of arrivals that we've had before the pandemic.

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce has been alerting lawmakers about the dire circumstances,” he said.

President of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce Joe Guerrero said, “The chamber, you know, has been predicting this and we have raised the flag and said this is what's going to happen and it's happening now. You know, I don't want to name names, but there are other major operators in the CNMI that have indicated to me personally that things are not looking good for their operations.”

Meanwhile, the Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas, which includes Hyatt, reported a 38% average occupancy rate last year. They said they begin to make a profit at 80% and are in survival mode.

In a press release they stated, “The current situation is unsustainable. Failure to act will almost certainly result in more business closures…”