‘I just couldn’t let that happen’

Following a fateful breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Saipan just days after its closure announcement, businessman David Hood knew he had to save the island’s iconic hotel property, and he wasn’t going to let anything stop him.

Hood, a businessman who fell in love with Saipan over 10 years ago, shared that after a defining breakfast at the former Hyatt hotel back in May (following the announcement of Hyatt’s closure), he decided that he would take it upon himself to save the place.

“It was May 1, I saw it in the paper, I was at the Hyatt for breakfast, and I was told that they wouldn’t be taking anymore reservations and that it would be the last breakfast. So, I sat there for a while thinking ‘what can I do to save this place? Do I have the ability to do that?’ and I started working on it every day. After that defining breakfast, I started talking with Protopia immediately. It took a while but after reviewing my vision, they decided it was a good one. We marched on, got their approval in July, and then we had to go to DPL to show them our vision and it all worked out. They assigned the lease to us and we’re taking over all the responsibilities of the existing lease. We are basically in charge of the entire lease as it is,” he said.

Hood, MB Capital LLC president, officially took over the Hyatt property lease last Aug. 3, from Saipan Portopia Corp. Saipan Portopia, who was operating the Saipan Hyatt Regency, signed a 40-year land lease agreement with the CNMI government last Jan. 1, 2022, but due to “continued challenges impacting Saipan and its tourism sector” they ceased operations last June 30, with 38 years left on the lease.

Even though many thought he was crazy for taking on a long-term lease on a property that could cost $40 million to renovate during a time when tourist arrivals remain at a fraction of what it used to be, Hood was determined to save the former Hyatt hotel, a place that holds sentimental value in his heart.

“This hotel is completely sentimental to me. I’ve been coming here since my first visit to Saipan in 2013. This was the first place I stayed at when I found Saipan, and I fell in love. It’s a beautiful place, it’s very unique, and when I heard it was going to close, I just thought I couldn’t let that happen. It drove me crazy thinking this place would go to rubble. However, I want to thank Portopia though, they kept this place immaculate and did a stellar job in transition,” he said.

Deemed the “fixer,” Hood said he immediately went to work in trying to acquire the property even jokingly twisting his new general manager’s, hotel industry expert Gloria Cavanagh, arm to join him in this risk he was willing to take.

“My first thought was instead of worrying about it, what could I do, is there something I could do to help bring it back? I started that quest right away, it got some traction, and we ended up taking it over. I was in a position that I could, and I was just excited about doing it,” he said.

As far as hotels, Hood shared that he has worked with hotels, but as far as running a hotel, this is the first for him that’s why it was a key component to have Cavanagh join his team.

Cavanagh, with years of experience under her belt, shared that despite her security as vice president of Mariana E-Land, she was excited by Hood’s challenge.

“I think that I wanted to be stimulated, I wanted something that was exciting, and David did it right. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He didn’t even tell me completely what the project was but he said enough to have me thinking. So, it worked out. It’s an exciting thing. This is the first time I’ll be in the Garapan core. This is a new, exciting experience for me. It’s a different aspect. Instead of joining the party, I’ll now be hosting the party,” she said.

Together, the dynamic duo is working on rebranding the former Hyatt and renovating the property while also looking at ways to aggressively increase occupancy.

The team said they intend to start small once their brand name is official (with just over 140 rooms) and will work from there.

“We’re going to start by opening the regency and possibly the southern side wing. Meanwhile, the center (or main building) will be out of commission and will be under renovation. Immediately, in 2025, we will be working with the brand of our choosing and start on the plans. That takes up to nine months. That’s going to be happening and while that’s going on, we will be managing around 142 rooms. One-hundred-and-forty rooms, with our aggressiveness and plans moving forward, we’re going to be able to stop the bleeding,” said Cavanagh.