Ridpath plans staff reductions

About 70 people will lose their jobs when the Ridpath Hotel in downtown Spokane drastically scales back operations after the first of the year.

Most of the operations in the hotel’s annex will close, including 77 rooms, meeting space and banquet halls, most likely in early January, said Todd Thoreson, vice president of hotel operations for Red Lion Hotels Corp., which owns the Ridpath. Ankeny’s Rooftop Restaurant also is slated to close, and the Silver Grill will continue to provide limited food, but no liquor service, he said.

Red Lion listed the Ridpath for sale last November, and the first quarter of the year is typically slow, Thoreson said. With low occupancy rates and rising utility costs, he said, the company decided to cut back operations.

“All of these decisions are going to be effective around the first of the year,” Thoreson said. “We’ve provided notice to our staff.”

Rick Sawyer, principal officer for Local 8 of the hotel and restaurant employees’ union, which represents Ridpath employees, said wages are not high at the Ridpath, but benefits are decent. Employees receive medical, dental, vision and life insurance policies, he said. They also have pensions. He said the union has not received a list of which employees will lose their jobs and which will remain.

Sawyer said the Ridpath is the only hotel in Spokane still staffed by union labor. He said that following this action by Red Lion, his organization is likely to spread the word to labor organizations looking for convention space that Spokane has no union hotels.

The Ridpath initially was listed for sale with Colliers International in Seattle for $20 million. That listing has since been revised, offering three options for buying the property, either as a whole or in parts. The tower and east wing are being offered for $8 million. That’s the north portion of the hotel, consisting of 265 rooms, 60 below-ground parking spaces, 6,828 square feet of meeting space, two restaurants and 3,686 square feet of retail space, according to the listing.

The executive court, also known as the annex, is being offered for $3 million. It consists of 77 rooms, 57 below-grade parking spaces, 10,042 square feet of meeting space, the outdoor pool and deck, the listing says.

Prospective buyers can also make an offer on the entire property.

Hotel occupancy through June 2005 is listed at 42 percent. Occupancy was 46 percent in 2004, 41 percent in 2003 and 43 percent in 2002, according to the sales listing. Gross revenue is listed at $5.7 million for 2004, $4.9 million for 2003 and $5.3 million for 2002.