Attao says Hyatt’s closure not a new situation

Rep. Blas Jonathan T. Attao (Ind-Saipan) said on Thursday that the impending closure of Hyatt Regency Saipan is not a new situation as this is not the first time the CNMI is facing this kind of problem.

Attao said during the House of Representatives special session that nobody was crying foul when Mariana Resort & Spa, Plumeria Resort, and La Fiesta Mall closed down.

Some House members also expressed their views on Hyatt’s announcement last week that it will close at the end of June 2024 due to the challenging circumstances in the CNMI’s tourism industry.

Attao said the CNMI was collecting bigger amounts of monies back then, but still weren’t able to afford the functions of the government.

“Just one thing that’s for sure, the situation is not new. The problem is not new,” he pointed out.

Attao said the bigger impact was COVID-19 pandemic and in that period, monies were just being thrown around left and right.

“And we used it the way they were throwing it to the CNMI,” he said.

Attao said he believes the CNMI can still survive this Hyatt closure’s impact.

He said the CNMI thanks Hyatt for all the years they’ve invested to the CNMI.

Attao said the CNMI has no control of external affects that led to Hyatt’s impending closure.

“We’re still surviving,” he said, adding that the CNMI will still find other ways to move forward from Hyatt.

Attao pointed out that there’s also a contractual agreement between Hyatt and Department of Public Lands.

He said there’s going to be penalties for breaching that contract and then there’s opportunities with that contract. “If there’s any hotel regarded as sweetest deal on a land lease it’s Hyatt along with Crowne,” Attao said.

He said there was a potential investor seeking the property in Hyatt and maybe CNMI can go back to that potential investor.

Attao said he is sure there are other new investors interested on that Hyatt property.

“COVID is past. People want to travel. People want to spend their money. They want to go to different places. We just need to reinvent ourselves, just like our ancestors did over the years after all the colonization. We can do this,” he said.

Attao underscored the need for the CNMI to work together to make sure that they come up with solutions that everybody’s going to benefit.

“Our problem is sometimes we just forget about laws that are very good because there’s a new investor in town and we create another law to protect that investor. We shouldn’t. Let’s go back to the drawing board and get the agencies in here,” he said.

Attao said let these agencies implement a lot of those enforcement laws that they have existing right on the CNMI.

“I’ll bet you we wouldn’t be talking about how Hyatt is leaving us. We’d be talking about who’s the next investors going to take over Hyatt, who’s the next investor is going to open up a new shop here,” he said.

Attao said investors come here to invest their money and that CNMI should help them grow.

“So we need to do our job. Don’t be afraid Hyatt closing down,” he said.

Attao acknowledged that Hyatt’s closure will affect the government’s budget, but stated that the CNMI has been through tougher times.

Rep. Vicente Castro Camacho (D-Saipan) said Hyatt Regency used to be Continental Hotel.

“I want to thank Hyatt Regency for actually employing me when I was 17 years old, my very first employment,” Camacho said.

Rep. Julie Marie Atalig Ogo (Ind-Rota) said Hyatt’s closure is sad news and disheartening as it has been around for a little over 40 years.

Ogo said like Gov. Arnold I. Palacios had stated, when one closes, another door opens for other opportunities.

She said comparing Hyatt’s closure, Rota has only less than 2,000 people and there’s a lot of businesses on Rota that have closed down.

“We’re very resilient. We rely on nature, the ocean to put food on the table,” Ogo said.

Ogo said with the Hong Kong Airlines coming in, that’s another door that just open.

She urged the CNMI to embrace and support all these

companies that are trying to come into the CNMI and invest even though the Commonwealth is in this situation.

Rep. Patrick H. San Nicolas (R-Tinian) said Hyatt’s closure is shocking and sad as it has contributed the CNMI’s tourism industry and economy for over 40 years.

San Nicolas said the CNMI’s first international brand will be sorely missed.

He said Hyatt weathered many “rough storms” since it opened its doors in 1980, such as the Asian financial crisis in 1990s, SARS avian flu of the early 2000, federal takeover of CNMI immigration in 2008, super typhoons Soudelor and Yutu in 2015 and 2018, respectively, and the most recent COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

San Nicolas said through thick and thin, Hyatt was being part of the CNMI.

He thanked Hyatt for many years of customer services, for the quality restaurants, spas, and other amenities that they provide residents and tourism.

He said the hotel has provided much needed jobs to the people and providing training opportunities for young generations.

San Nicolas said Hyatt has been good steward for the CNMI’s tax base and environment.

He said it may seem ironic that Hyatt chose to announce its closure on the day the CNMI welcome back Hong Kong Airlines.

“Let us use this opportunity to refocus our efforts to enact policies that will attract international travel policies that will bring long lasting private investment to CNMI to prosper the people of the Commonwealth,” San Nicolas said.

Rep. Diego Vincent Fejeran Camacho (D-Saipan) thanked Hyatt for their 40 plus years of service to the CNMI.

Camacho said he is glad that Palacios instructed the Labor Secretary Leila Staffler to attend to the affected Hyatt employees so that they may find meaningful work.

“When one door closes, another open. But we don’t know what’s behind that next door,” he said.

Camacho said the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority is the appropriate agency that goes out there and look for investors.

He said he believes it is appropriate for members of the Legislature to be the one to go out here and seek investors.

“We saw what happened with IPI [Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC]. that’s bad example,” Camacho said.

Blas Jonathan T. Attao