New management jump-starts Shoreline Inn

August 23, 2009
Dave Alexander
Muskegon Chronicle

Doug Pollock came to Muskegon in late June to manage the Shoreline Inn and Suites with a single goal in mind.

"I came here to take a hotel with great potential and make it a great hotel," said Pollock, who left as general manager of the Holiday Inn Columbus Downtown-Capital Square to come to Muskegon.

The Shoreline Inn is a 140-room, 10-story hotel on Muskegon Lake. Opened in 2002, it is Muskegon's only waterfront hospitality venue.

Pollock knew exactly what he would find in Muskegon with the underperforming Shoreline Inn that had been taken over in April by Grand Rapids real estate developer Jon Rooks. The new owner was looking for a turnaround specialist, and Pollock was his man.

"There has been a lot of reputation attached to the hotel due to the former owners," Pollock said of Shoreline Inn developers and former owners John and Susan Payne. "It's under new ownership and management.

"You can't walk through the hotel without seeing the changes," Pollock said.

Pollock had his first experience as the Shoreline Inn general manager in 2005 when the Paynes hired CWB Property Management of Ohio to help them run the Shoreline Inn. It was a condition of bankers as they rewrote the Paynes' troubled mortgage, Pollock said.

As soon as the hotel financing was secured, the Paynes dismissed CWB, Pollock said of his short stay in Muskegon. But it was a stay that left a strong impression on him about the potential of Muskegon and the Shoreline Inn.

Rooks also has hired a sales director -- Darlene Witham, a successful veteran Muskegon-area hotel manager who once ran the Holiday Inn Muskegon Harbor when it was a Hilton Hotel. Witham most recently was the events coordinator for the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce.

In just a few weeks, Pollock and his team have put their imprint on the Shoreline Inn.

The Shoreline Inn for the first time in its history has had several nights when all 140 rooms were filled, Pollock said. One week earlier this month, it generated a record $72,000 in weekly revenue, and overall occupancy has shot up from 15 percent annually. Projections are for annual occupancy to be as high as 45 percent in the coming year, he said.

The Shoreline Inn nightly rates range from $99-$399, whereas winter rates may begin at $79 a night. Average room rates will be in the $120-$130 range in the summer and $90 range in the winter, Pollock said.

Community leaders are thrilled with the "new look" Shoreline Inn.

"We need the hotel space downtown," said Cathy Brubaker-Clarke, the city's economic development and planning director. "The key is going to be management. We are really impressed so far."

Tourism promoters see the Shoreline Inn taking a greater leadership role in the Muskegon County hospitality industry.

"We have an owner that is willing to put something into the hotel," said Jill Foreman, Muskegon County tourism manager.

"I see nothing but success coming from it. We are excited."

Rooks came in possession of the Shoreline Inn -- the adjacent Terrace Pointe Marina and Rafferty's Restaurant and 15 vacant acres along Muskegon Lake -- somewhat by accident.

He purchased a $9-million-plus distressed mortgage on the Shoreline Inn properties for reportedly $5 million with the expectation the Paynes would continue owning and operating the facilities, according to court documents.

When mortgage payments stopped, the Paynes and Rooks ended up in court with the two parties settling after Rooks won the legal battle. Rooks received the Shoreline Inn with a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" and Rooks removed personal guarantees from the mortgage that threatened the couple's Kalamazoo real estate holdings, the new owner said.

The Rooks-Payne deal kept the Shoreline Inn operating throughout the ownership change.

The first question for the Grand Rapids condominium developer was what he would do with a major hotel complex.

"The city of Muskegon and the Muskegon County Convention and Visitors Bureau wanted it to stay as a hotel," Rooks said. "As a real estate investor, developer and owner, I wanted it to stay as a hotel. I could feel the community desire for this to succeed as a hotel."

The first decision was to hire the best management team possible, Rooks said. He has retained all of the former owner's employees and now has a staff of 19.

"We are far enough into this that we have all the confidence that this will succeed," Rooks said. He said he goes forward without mortgage debt hanging over the Shoreline Inn.

The new owner received a hotel that had been poorly maintained over the past years, Pollock said. Despite being relatively new, 60 of the rooms were unable to be booked because as repairs were needed, the Paynes had closed the rooms, Rooks said.

A long list of delayed maintenance items and hotel upgrades were done to the hotel and the 114-slip marina, Rooks said. His Parkland Properties also owns and operates the Wharf Marina in Grand Haven. Both the Wharf and Terrace Pointe marinas are now managed by Parkland's C.J. Fisher.

One of the biggest changes Pollock brought to the Shoreline Inn was joining the hotel industry's Global Distribution System. This is an Internet clearinghouse that allows the Shoreline Inn to be booked off of the popular Internet travel sites such as Travelocity.com or Hotels.com, among others.

The Shoreline Inn is receiving up to eight Internet reservations a day, Pollock said. Rooks said the Internet exposure will allow the Shoreline Inn to remain as an independent hotel for the time being.

Business leaders always had questioned why the Paynes had not obtained a national chain franchise to help them manage and book the Shoreline Inn.

Rooks said the unique nature and layout of the Shoreline Inn -- which has the feel of a bed and breakfast but offers 140 rooms -- makes the switch to a chain cost prohibitive. A chain would demand major changes, he said.

"I am trying to be methodical in how we are going about the turnaround," Rooks said of taking a hands-on approach with the Shoreline Inn. "We are taking a bunch of baby steps along the way."

Besides a reservation system and physical improvements, Pollock said the Shoreline Inn needed an attitude adjustment.

"Our biggest change might be in attitude and atmosphere," Pollock said of running a hospitality business. "Our staff had never served guests in more than 100 rooms (per night). Now they are doing that regularly and doing it well. It has been an education process."
© 2009 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission