Comfort Inn: 20 Years and Still Growing

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In 1990, the headlines in the local paper, The Evening Telegram for St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, rang out that Hibernia was back on track. Our first oil project for our eastern Canadian island gave everyone a renewed sense of hope for the future. It was during this time that I decided there was no better time to move back to Newfoundland from Ottawa to avail myself of our exciting opportunities. Little did I know that we were months away from sinking into a deep recession; interest rates were climbing; the fishery was in disarray and governments were cutting to the bone.

No Investment

Coming from a family of veterans in the hotel industry, I was hopeful of what was on the horizon, and yet, what I was faced with was a floundering economy. No one was investing or re-investing in hotels, and the seven major properties in St. John’s were struggling to stay afloat. Like many stories you hear about Newfoundlanders, adversity could not stop us. With vision and tenacity, the oil and gas industry grew one project at a time. From Hibernia to Terra Nova, to White Rose and Hebron, these global mega- oil projects paved the way for our current successes.

Developments

Twenty years hence, the city is now bustling; hotel developments are popping up everywhere, and St. John’s is enjoying a thriving economy, while the rest of Canada is trying to crawl out of another recession. It feels great to be bucking the national trend, and as an island in the middle of the North Atlantic, facing challenging growth, we have done incredibly well. At the Comfort Inn Airport, our request for financing the addition of 42 guest rooms to the hotel landed on the desk of the VP of the Americas with GE Capital. The financing we received was the first investment in the hotel sector in 22 months, that we had seen! That speaks volumes about the economy in Canada’s coolest province — Newfoundland.

I also believe it’s a testament to the product and the relationships we’ve developed at the Comfort Inn Airport. Formerly, the Airport Plaza, the hotel was operating with the lowest occupancy in St. John’s in 2004, when we acquired the asset. Significant capital investment, the branding of the hotel to a Comfort Inn and a strong leadership team has turned the hotel around. In 2010, the Comfort Inn Airport had the highest occupancy in the city, and now, we are forced to expand to meet the growing needs of our clients.

Our partnership with the offshore oil industry has been a vital part of the success of the company. Taking care of the million little things has never been put to the test as clearly as it has through our relationship with offshore companies. Our proximity to the airport means the Comfort Inn Airport plays an integral role in the movement of hundreds of people to and from the offshore projects on a weekly basis. We’re small, we’re local and we’re flexible, making us an ideal partner in these ever-changing times.

Of course, the rain drizzle and fog Newfoundlanders love to hate, also, positions the hotel to take care of stranded passengers from the airport. As well, the province’s growing tourism sector plays a key role in our success. As we look towards the future, we are well positioned to take advantage of this continued growth, and we are excited to deliver our new guest rooms this spring.

One might wonder what a legacy of hotels has to do with the oil and gas industry, but when you realize that work life always requires a place at night to rest, rejuvenate and re-align, you understand how each business supports the next in an enormous and complex supply chain. We are proud to support the industry in this way, and we have enjoyed being an integral part of our oil industry’s growth and success. Sleep easy, Judy Sparkes.