And they have plenty of company.
Although one hotel manager described Kitsap County as, “...the place people go through on their way to the Olympics,” our area continues to emerge as a destination itself.

Locals know Kitsap County as a place with picturesque, pristine shores, hiking trails, boating, fishing, camping, horse farms, dense pine forests and lots of fresh air. What may not be known — even to the locals, is how Kitsap is poised to welcome business, too. First in the form of conferences and retreats, and because of that experience, as a possible place for business to relocate. In fact, our model of growth could be paraphrased from Kevin Costner’s role in Field of Dreams where he kept hearing a voice say, “if you build it, they will come.”

But, the question is, “What is being built and who is coming?” Depending on how you look at it and who you talk to, a lot — or nothing, and no one at all. There are trends, but no clear picture — yet. There are hopeful signs, but no actual plan.

A hotel and conference center at McCormick Woods is in the works and the Poulsbo Chamber has done a study about a convention/conference center in that city as well. Alderbrook Inn out on Hood Canal in Mason County has been perceived primarily as a Christian retreat center ever since it was sold to Christa Ministries. But according to general manager Peter Phillips, that’s not the case, and the facility, which has recently undergone a massive facelift, is working hard to dispel that image and diversify its clientele. And the Island Country Inn on Bainbridge won’t say when or where, but it will be “adding space.” All of which means bigger and better is on the way — but it’s not here, yet.

Currently there are only two large capacity conference/lodging spaces in Kitsap — the WestCoast Silverdale Hotel and the Howard Johnson Plaza in Bremerton.

WestCoast Silverdale manager Kevin Wojcik said that like their smaller counterparts, Best Western, and Holiday Inn Express, they exist on a steady diet served up by local businesses and professional organizations, the government, ship reunions, shipyard transients, weddings, little league, service clubs and legal depositions.

Wojcik also said the hotel plays host to a number of business groups from out of the area on a regular basis. “We had a large group from Primerica Financial Services here not too long ago,” has stated. “This is the second time they were here and they’ll be coming back.” He also said that companies that provide services to the Navy are users of the establishment as well as others as diverse as the Washington Demolay Foundation, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Northwest Regional Emergency Medical Services.

One real estate related dot.com has brought speaker Roald Marth, known nationally as the “Technology Evangelist,” to the WestCoast Silverdale Hotel several times within the last year to address local real estate pros.

At the Howard Johnson’s, manager Wendy Nash said “Our base repeat business comes from the local sports groups that host some of the tournaments around here. Our annual mainstay business comes from the Navy at the Bangor submarine base and contractors working there. On the leisure side, it’s when the boats come back in and the sailors come here with their loved ones for a weekend getaway.”

Nash, who has only been there for a few months, is experienced in the hospitality industry and is well aware the establishment has been through a number of ownership, name and franchise changes since Joe Mentor first developed it as a Holiday Inn in the 1970s. She also knows it’s suffered it’s share of bad raps from the locals, but she is up for the challenge. She has a positive outlook and is focusing on “extreme customer service” to overcome the local perception.

“We’re actively out there in the corporate market,” she said. “We’re here, rebuilding relationships based on past experiences. We hope people will focus on the future, on where we’re going, not on the past.”

Not surprisingly, retailers are frequent visitors to our area. A sampling includes Eddie Bauer at the Poulsbo Holiday Express for a photo shoot, as well as Ford Motor Co. salesmen from all over the world during the unveiling of their new line of SUVs. DaimlerChrysler also held a national Jeep event here for journalists from all over the nation to showcase a new model. Both occurred just last year. In Port Orchard, the Guesthouse Inn provided rooms for Fred Meyer and Shari’s during their training and hiring.

Medical groups are headed our way.
For the next two years, the Academy of Orthodontics will meet at the Guesthouse every other month. At the Island Country Inn, Seattle based orthopedic research scientists will meet to confer on prosthetics.

The Island Country Inn, spurred to do something after tracking its “turn away business” — business that couldn’t be accommodated because of inadequate facilities — will be “adding on.” It has also established a successful relationship with Integrated Data Communications which purchased space across the street and plans on staying on Bainbridge. Additionally, the Island Country Inn provides meeting space for Watson Furniture, and Team Builders, Corp., a corporate relations training firm, which regularly holds training sessions there.

Martha Stewart created a big stir when she stayed at the Inn last year to film a segment of her program. Her crew will be back again this year visiting Little and Lewis and Heronwood Nursery. Stewart has given these local businesses national recognition, attracting tourists to the area.

The Visitor and Convention Bureau (VCB), seeing the potential trend in location shoots, has met, along with the Washington State Film Office, with Los Angeles filmmakers to promote Kitsap County. In particular, there has been keen interest in the Victorian realism of Port Gamble.

Tourism still accounts for the majority of business at the Hotels in Kitsap. But, where natural wonders once drew the crowds, today it is golf and wine. Two of Kitsap’s golf courses, McCormick Woods, and Gold Mountain are among the top 200 courses in America. The Winery Loop Assoc. leads the way for tasting tours to Bainbridge Island Vineyards and Winery.

As though Kitsap County were an adolescent on its way to adulthood, it advances awkwardly with a mix of venues. Beautiful meeting spaces abound, like the Admiral Theatre, or the new Harrison Campus in Silverdale. There are also well established facilities such as Kitsap Golf and Country Club, Kiana Lodge and the Suquamish Clearwater Casino. But these have no lodging.

Like the President’s Hall at the Fairgrounds which brings in antique car shows and other large events, and the Trident Ballroom on the Bangor submarine base which hosts numerous non-military, private functions, attendees must fend for themselves in locating a place to stay. B&B’s have ambiance, but are too small for meetings other than intimate executive retreats.

So we chug along. Remarkably, word of mouth, local contacts and franchise referrals are the major marketing tools used by local hotels. Despite all the dollars the VCB has spent “promoting” Kitsap, most of the facility managers interviewed for this story politely referred to VCB referrals as “nonexistent,” or said, “we would welcome a call.”

Efforts to coordinate outsider’s interest in Kitsap, either for tourism or relocation, seem largely left to each tourist-oriented business, city, Chamber of Commerce or community groups. Some, like Poulsbo, actively pursue business, with what it calls the “Poulsbo Product.” While others, like Port Orchard’s tourism committee buy ad space in Sunset Magazine and mail maps and other information to all inquirers.

What is clear is this: There is no clear picture of exactly who is coming here or where they come from. There are no reliable statistics available, no clearly defined method used by any organization to measure tourism and compile information — other than informal inquiries of tourist businesses — and seemingly no clear direction or ongoing, targeted marketing effort on the part of the VCB or any other organization to bring specific groups of people to Kitsap.

Local efforts are being made, but they are fragmented and sporatic and have no specific focus. They tend to be made by individual establishments or small groups and not in concert with any organization and with no clearly defined goal.

However tourism is steady and improving, but that appears to be in spite of any effort to actively promote the area and not because of it.

Local hospitality industry professionals agree that a coordinated, effective effort to tap this potential reservoir of tourist dollars would go a long way to improve the situation, create more local jobs and improve Kitsap’s economy with an environmentally-friendly, low impact industry.

But will it happen? That’s quite another story.