United Companies, Inc. ready to buy Inn at Whittier

Photo Courtesy of the Inn at Whittier The Inn at Whittier is going to be bought by United Companies, Inc., a subsidiary of parent company Sea Lion Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation headquartered in Hooper Bay. The closing date is scheduled for June 5. The Inn is an elegant hotel situated on the banks of Prince William Sound by Whittier’s private harbor and cruise ship dock.

Sale closing scheduled for June 5. New management tentatively plans to open restaurant and bar Memorial Day weekend.

By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times

United Companies, Inc. will be purchasing the Inn at Whittier with a closing date scheduled for June 5; the company is occupying and managing the property until that date.
The First National Bank of Alaska owns the Inn. The bank assumed ownership after the Inn’s former owner, the Hernandez family, filed for Chapter 7 on Aug. 18, 2008 ceasing operations.
United Companies, Inc. CEO, David Cottrell, said the company expected to close on May 15, but a rock slide that closed Portage-Glacier Road for over a month, delayed much needed repair work in the building, which was the responsibility of the bank before a sale could be finalized.
There was extensive water damage in the building from water pipes that burst in the winter. Water was over three feet deep in the basement causing extensive damage to the building’s electrical and telephone wiring. The furnace and boiler had to be replaced as well as other repairs to the building.
“There was a lot of damage through the winter,” Cottrell said. “They had to replace sheet rock, work on the elevator. All of that was delayed because of the rock slide.”
Cottrell said a management team is in place with a new General Manager, Deborah Harris, a Bar Manager and head chef, and a full-time staff has been hired. The bar and restaurant are tentatively scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend.
“The general manager is working really hard to get the rooms open,” Cottrell said.
After the summer season, Cottrell said they will assess 2010 and what will be needed to increase revenue.
“This is just getting our feet wet,” he said, “and we’re really excited about it.”
The asking price for the Inn was $2.2 million, but Cottrell did not reveal the final offer.
Construction of the Inn at Whittier started in 2000 by principle owners Kirk Loeffler and Ed Cronick. The Hernandez family stepped in as investors in 2003 owning 33 percent. The family up to that point had no experience owning or managing a hotel but operated a successful fur business–the Alaska Fur Gallery. The total cost for constructing the Inn was estimated at about $6 million.
The Inn opened its doors in July of 2004, but it struggled to make a profit and pay off debts.
United Companies, Inc. is a subsidiary of Sea Lion Corporation (SLC), an Alaska Native Corporation–the village corporation of Hooper Bay. Its core business activities are regional telecommunications and local services such as a store, government service contracting and commercial real estate. It was established in 1973 with an estimated $20 million in annual sales. Hooper Bay is located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, 100 miles northwest of Bethel on the coast of the Bering Sea.
United Companies, Inc. is based in Anchorage. It was established in 1977 and has an estimated $27 million in annual sales. Its core business is also telecommunications, but Cottrell said the company is expanding into the tourism industry, residential real estate, and developing hotels within the state.
The Inn at Whittier is a 25-room New England style hotel with a full service restaurant and bar on the shores of Prince William Sound next to Whittier Harbor. There are 23 standard rooms and two 2-story townhouse suite with views of the Sound.