By IAN ROSS
The new owners of Parry Sound's former Jolly Roger Inn hope to restore the original lustre to the venerable Highway 69 institution.
 |
The Charles W. Stokey Centre also houses the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame. |
The father-and-son management team of Anil and Ankur Sharma intend to rejuvenate the 53-unit hotel's reputation as one of the area's premier hospitality venues.
The Sharma family has been a fixture as local hoteliers for the past 18 years in operating the Traveller's Hotel and the Mid-Town Hotel.
Situated on a 32-acre property next to Highway 69-400, 'the Jolly' was expropriated by the Ontario government prior to the widening and four-laning of Highway 69 four years ago.
Slated at first for demolition by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), the hotel was saved and operated for a time by the Ontario government.
Under the previous owners, Ernie and Ingrid Muller, the hotel enjoyed a stellar and award-winning reputation. But hotel sales began to slip until eventually the Ontario Realty Corporation put the building and property up for sale last year. The Sharma's finalized the deal in December.
They are promising to be committed and dedicated owners.
"A business without an owner is not as successful," says manager Ankur Sharma. "The pain doesn't come from within. When it's your own thing, it's important, it matters."
Under the Quality Inn banner, the Sharma's have big and small plans in the works starting with menu changes in the restaurant. The first phase of major renovations on 23 rooms aimed at bringing them up the hotel chain's standards are underway. The two conference rooms will also receive a facelift and some rooms will be converted into suites.
"It's always been a beautiful property and was something we used to look at all the time (driving) past it," says Sharma.
"We knew it was a great thing and knew how well it was doing before when Ernie and Ingrid (Muller) were running the place.
"The minute we heard it was going up for sale, we saw the potential and knew how beautiful the property was.
The location and everything was just so ideal."
Just 500 metres away from the hotel is the Seguin Valley Golf and Country Club, considered one of Ontario's best new golf destinations. Sharma says he is working with the club's ownership to set up stay-and-play packages.
The morale of staff has vastly improved under the new ownership, says Sharma. "Naturally if you have people standing around with no work, morale is
going to fall. When it's busy, which it has been in the last two months since we've taken over, they're excited. There's a whole new level of motivation."
He anticipates the inn being fully booked this summer with their usual mixture of business clientèle, cottagers in town to open their camps and golfers.
The tourism and hospitality industry is the undisputed mainstay of the Parry Sound economy.
In 2002, 1.41 million cottagers, overnighters and day-travellers visited the area, primarily during the summer, and the winter snowmobiling season.
According to Ontario government statistics, visitors from Ontario, the United States and Europe spent $151.7 million that year on lodging, food, transportation, entertainment and retail purchases. Average spending per person was $36 a day, with American tourists spending $88.
Kelly Krist, marketing manager of Georgian Bay Country, Parry Sound's tourism marketing arm, says the association is developing a branding to market the bay for boaters and cottagers, promote entertainment events at the Charles W. Stockey Centre and bring greater exposure to some of the smaller mom-and-pop resorts.
Last fall, the Parry Sound area was designated as a United Nations biosphere reserve, one of four in Ontario.
A local biosphere board of directors is working with the tourism association on a business plan to find ways to market the biosphere, which stretches from the 30,000 Islands chain north to the French River.
Krist says the biosphere "hasn't been marketed to its fullest extent" and she is working with European tour operators to sell canoe, kayak and boat cruise packages.
"It's an amazing designation that we can capitalize on."
Convention and entertainment events also figure to be a big source of future tourism revenue.
Next summer, Parry Sound will host the 2006 World Euduro Championship, an off-road motorcycle event that will attract 120 competitors from around the world.
Previously held in Europe, it is the first time the event is being staged in North America. It will feature extreme racing on the area's trail network.
Organizers expect $700,000 in spending from riders and their support teams during the two-day event in early July, plus an additional $400,000 in spending from ºvolunteers and visiting media.
