Region may land call center for cruise line
Cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. may open a call center in Spokane Valley and hire 1,400 workers within five years, said City Councilwoman Diana Wilhite.
The Miami-based cruise line has whittled the list of cities for its business expansion to two: Spokane Valley and Eugene, Ore.
A choice may be made this month.
If Spokane Valley is selected, Royal Caribbean would build a new 230,000-square-foot office near the Spokane River, Wilhite said.
That’s about as big as the Wal-Mart Supercenter off Sullivan Road.
Wilhite said Royal Caribbean initially would hire 300 employees to book cruise vacations and pay them more than minimum wage, with benefits.
“We talked with them at great length about what we have to offer,” she said of recent meetings between city officials, members of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council and company representatives. “They were very impressed. We have great people and good schools in a fairly mid-sized city.”
Royal Caribbean spokesman Michael Sheehan confirmed the company is looking at establishing a call center in the Northwest and said the Spokane area is under consideration.
“Is Spokane a possibility? It is one of a number of possibilities,” Sheehan said. “We are doing our research and talking with some of the communities involved in an exploratory manner.”
Stan Key, manager of business development for the EDC, confirmed that a large company is looking for 230,000 square feet of space in the Spokane area, although he would not disclose the company’s name.
“They’ve looked at half a dozen different sites here in Spokane County,” Key said.
Wilhite said she was told by Royal Caribbean that local employees could advance their careers within the company.
“These are not dead-end jobs,” she said, countering a perception that all call center jobs are low-wage work with little chance of promotion.
Spokane Valley Mayor Mike DeVleming said he sat down twice with company employees and consultants, once in April and again in May.
“If the call center were to move here and build, it would be a big plus for construction and employment,” he said.
The competition with the Eugene area is stiff. Oregon communities can use business recruitment incentives that are not allowed by Washington state.
What’s more, EDC President and CEO Jon Eliassen said competing with states such as Oregon, which don’t have a sales tax, is difficult because of the increased costs Washington’s sales tax adds to construction.
Though Washington does not have a state income tax, its sales taxes add hefty fees to building projects, he said.
A bill that would have provided sales-tax exemptions for construction of certain facilities, such as the Royal Caribbean call center, died in the state’s last legislative session. It’s likely to be reintroduced in the next session, Eliassen said.
Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Rich Hadley said eight leading state politicians have signed a letter saying they are committed to taking that issue up in the next session. Those who signed the letter were: Gov. Gary Locke, the three candidates for governor, the speaker of the House, the majority leader in the Senate and minority leaders in the House and Senate, Hadley said.
“We have our hands tied a little bit on the incentive side. That is not our long suit,” Hadley said. “Certainly there’s been a Herculean effort to level the playing field with Oregon.”
Despite the state’s more restrictive incentive programs, Wilhite said Royal Caribbean officials were impressed by Spokane’s labor pool and job-training programs, such as those at Spokane community colleges.
“We have a work force that’s hungry to go to work and is easily trainable to jobs and probably the best community college system in the country,” Hadley said.