CAMDEN, Maine — Raymond Brunyanszki has a simple explanation for why the Camden Harbour Inn is charging close to $1,000 per night for its high-end suites. It’s because there are travelers who will pay that much.
It’s not a matter of gouging visitors or overhyping the inn, Brunyanszki said. It’s just that there are people who pay that much to stay in luxury hotels in Europe, New York and Southeast Asia, so why not provide the same amenities in midcoast Maine as they get in those other places?
“I think we are reaching out to a completely new market that hasn’t been to Maine before,” Brunyanszki said. “They don’t mind spending a couple of hundred dollars extra if they get pampered.”
Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers Association, acknowledged the soundness of that business strategy.
“There’s no question it’s a viable market,” Dugal said. “There’s no question that the proper marketing of high-end product is essential for our business model, and it can be very successful.”
If Maine can land even a small segment of the high-end travel market, it could provide growth for the industry and bring new dollars to the state, Dugal says.
Though the Camden Harbour Inn may be the first in Maine to reach the $1,000-per-night plateau, according to an informal survey, some other inns and hotels are fast approaching the four-figure threshold.
Brunyanszki and his partner, Oscar Verest, moved to Camden from their native Holland a little over five years ago, purchased the property on Bayview Street in Camden, and opened the Camden Harbour Inn and Natalie’s restaurant. Brunyanszki had worked as a hotel consultant, and when he and Verest decided to open the inn in Camden, they visited hotels worldwide to get a fix on what elements are important to making a stay perfect, and worth the price.
The two suites they began offering for $985 a night earlier this year capture those elements, they believe. The proof is that they have been consistently booked through the summer months and reserved for weekends into the fall. The men are confident that trend will continue through the winter, since the 20-room inn has been consistently booked in past years.
The luxury, spa suites on the inn’s second floor are indeed packed with amenities. There are three flat screen TVs, including one that hangs in the bathroom where it can be viewed from the Jacuzzi tub and the color-therapy sauna (different colored lights can be selected to satisfy a variety of health and mood needs). The bathroom also features a rain-and-steam shower.
The bedroom’s eclectic style looks like it might be in a chic, urban apartment. There’s a handmade headboard and ceiling fixtures that pinpoint light on a small part of the bed, allowing one person to read while the other sleeps. There’s also a walk-in closet.
The suite’s living room features a gas fireplace that is visible in the bedroom, a not-so-mini bar with drinks and snacks, a large flat screen TV and a couch. Surprisingly, the room’s style is not that of a cozy old New England inn. Instead, the room reflects sophistication and modernity. The style is Royal Dutch, as Brunyanszki puts it.
Travelers who are willing to pay $1,000 per night want to see a sophisticated style in their accommodations, he said, “and have all the high-end amenities, but at the same time have the feel of a bed and breakfast.”
Brunyanszki and Verest also analyzed the traveling experience from the view of the traveler and made changes such as cutting the check-in process down to half a minute. They also train staff to see whether guests want to be fussed over or given maximum privacy.
Camden is the right place to offer such high-end accommodations, the men believe.
“Camden is clearly a high-end location,” Brunyanszki said. “The people who live here and have their houses here are some of the richest in the United States.”
The gold coast
Whether other hotels and inns can command top dollar for luxury suites may be tied to their location.
Eddie and Judy Hemmingsen used to operate the Bluenose Inn in Bar Harbor, one of the most prestigious hotels in that community. They now own and operate the Belfast Bay Inn, an eight-room hotel on Main Street in Belfast. On a weekend night in summer, the hotel’s best suite, at 1,200 square feet, goes for $388.
Even that price, said Eddie Hemmingsen, “is really stretching the outer limit of what Belfast can bear.”
A suite for $985 a night? “I don’t think Belfast will ever be ready for that,” he said. “The market isn’t here — or, at least, it isn’t here yet.”
Meanwhile, in Bar Harbor, the Blue Nose Inn gets $499 for its best one-bedroom suite, the Bar Harbor Inn’s best one-bedroom suite goes for $479 in summer and The Harborside has a room that will cost $809 next summer.
Southern Maine also has its gold coast.
The best suite at the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport goes for $950 a night on a summer weekend, according to Paul Hanley, CEO of U.S. Hotels, the company that owns and operates the inn and eight other properties.
Hanley believes the White Barn Inn “is the first in Maine to cater to high-end travelers,” and has been doing so for 15 years.
The inn’s guests — and many return — span different age groups, and hail from all over the U.S. and world, he said.
“The thing they have in common is they’re really focused on a luxury experience,” Hanley said. “The elements include location, architecture, interior design, charm, cuisine and amenities.“ Referring to the cuisine, Hanley pointed out that the inn has its own on-site five-star restaurant.
Midcoast flavor
Having an acclaimed restaurant in Natalie’s helps the Camden Harbour Inn, Brunyanszki said.
Another amenity the inn relies on is the nearby “executive” airport, Knox County Regional Airport in Owls Head. Private jets are a common sight there, and Brunyanszki said guests often arrive via that airport.
The small-town charm also is an ally in marketing to the high-end visitor.
“They like the easy atmosphere up here,” Verest said, “the friendliness and the beauty.” Camden is a place “where you can walk out your door and leave it open,” he said. In stores, there are no lines.
Combine fine lodging amenities with a small-town feel, and you’ve got “the perfect blend,” Verest said.
Dugal of the innkeepers association said “the whole ‘safe’ thing is really big for the traveling Maine consumer,” an observation confirmed by surveys.
Dugal also noted that hotels in Portland have pushed their rates higher this summer, a sign that catering to high-income travelers is a niche with room for growth. Hotels and inns only need to refurbish a few rooms, perhaps making two into one and adding amenities, he said, to be in the game.
“I think in the end, everyone wants to be taken care of,” Brunyanszki said.
This is what your denied raises and cut pensions go towards.
I was going to try and say say something humorous but the reality of your comment stopped me right in my tracks. This has certainly become a wonderful world for “some” people. For the rest of us, ahh…not so enchanting.
Would it “spoil some vast eternal plan” if I was a 1% gal? I’d settle for 2%.
I understand your sentiment, even agree with some of it, BUT
When my truck broke down in Binghamton New York, a used up old mill town where the hard rain has already fallen, I had the best time.
Found a mechanic who would take my check although he didn’t know me from Adam. Said his experience told him Maine folks “was honest.” (He had family in Palmyra.) T hen I went to a movie theater, the old kind with balcony and crystal chandeliers, paid a
buck and got some live local talent (a garage rock group) before the movie. Also got a 10% off my next visit coupon because I was a “first timer.” They told me the movie theater was once an opera house, and that it was 100 years old. Oh, BTW they were doing a very good business.
Then went to a diner (recommended by the theater owner) The silver streak variety with stainless steel exterior. Had their “Blue Plate Special” (Yeah that is what they called it) which happened to be meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob, which the diner advertised as “local.” Dinner came with a small fruit cup (passed on the offer of sherbet topping) and a cherry cobbler for desert Should have passed on the vanilla bean ice-cream from their local creamery, but didn’t Felt like I ate a whole herd of cattle, but a good full feeling. The bill was around $8.
Asked the diner man about motels, and he gave me the names and general location
of three, but said if I didn’t mind a place with bathroom down the hall “Sally’s rooming house was a better deal…”and so clean you can eat right off the floor.” The benefit of “Sally’s” was that it was in walking distance of the diner, my mechanic, and a “Country Western bar” where I planned to spend my evening.
Went to the bar, danced with a bunch of lovely local gals. Got some friendly advise from the husband of the woman with whom I had danced the last two sets, sang “He’ll have to go” on the Karaoke mike with a couple of my new friends (and I swear I was only drinking ginger ale) then called it a night. Sally’s was great, clean and $18 a night. In the morning I was offered a free breakfast, but went back to the diner and bought 2 eggs,
english muffin, homefries, and coffee for $2.75. I went to my mechanic (who charged me $22 less than his estimate) paid and left Binghamton with the feeling I had just had a vacation in the 1960’s instead of a breakdown.
Life is good generally, and sure money matters, just not as much as some folks think.
Sad that you are so consumed with jealousy. Anybody that has been successful should be ashamed because you don’t drive a Mercedes? Because you only have a 40″ TV? Can’t afford to put a motor on your canoe?
Almost all of the lavish real-estate up and down our coast are owned by flatlanders for flatlanders. The big buck profits from this high-end clientele also leaves the state as fast as an online transaction can travel. We do make the money I guess off what they eat,buy and services. The positive point !
This BDN poll asks if we would spend that kind of money?Why would we? Just to say we did?
I didn’t even participate in it.
A fool and his money…
Not a transient “safe haven.”
Disgusting and decadent. Children go hungry and without a place to call home and this place can cater to those who don’t have a clue.
Yep-gauche, but more on the part of the patrons than the business itself. If I had that kind of money, I’d be embarrassed and ashamed to waste it on myself when, as Guest says, so many are hungry or homeless. Forest Gump probably would have said, “Selfish is as selfish does.”
Why is it my responsibility to pay for someone else’s hungary, homeless, and un-clothed children? They already get my money via taxes I paid to the government. So no, it is NOT my problem or responsiblity nor do I care. I have no qualms about spending money on myself for a nice room.
It is not your responsibility to take care of anyone else but yourself. It is not your duty to help anyone but yourself. That is the beauty of America, you are free to be as selfish as you like. There is no law requiring you to have a conscience.
Amen to to the fact that “That is the beauty of America, you are free to be as selfish as you like.” However, if my kids wants something my kids get no matter at what expense, they will get it. My kids should have the best clothes, computers, sports equipment (such as hockey) and other things they need for school or lifestyle stuff. That’s why I went to college. To provide better for my kids, who will in return, provide better for their kids… not someone else’s kids.
Any chance of your kids receiving some humility, along with everything else you plan to give them? Empathy for others who were not born into such a wonderful life? My kids got what they needed growing up, but they also learned what it means to be a decent human being and how to think of others as well as themselves. I will probably not be in a position to leave them great wealth when I go, but I will leave them rich in many other ways. The ways that money can’t buy.
Hopefully your children will turn out to be more compassionate and empathetic to others. You have severe tunnel vision about society.
If the dems could make a law to control your conscience, they would. lol.
Bravo! Another thing the ‘gripers’ don’t ever want to admit to is that a lot of these ‘rich’ people give a lot of money to charities and are still able to spend “their” money on themselves. Everyone in this country has the same opportunities to make something of themselves. Some people take better advantage of it. We’ll never be rich where we live, but we trade the safety and beauty for high end jobs in large cities. That is our choice.
You are sick!
You’re a special person. When you’re down and out someday remember that.
Then donate some of your time/money to feed children.
I already do and have been a foster parent for 20 years.
How much does the state pay you to be a foster parent?? do it for free then come back to us
I don’t do it for the money. If we did we wouldn’t have a roof over our heads.
We don’t have the children for long anymore, we are an emergency home. I provide children with safe place to be after a traumatic event.
Those who do it for monetary compensation alone shouldn’t be foster parents.
If those that have, have given millions to charities, is it then ok for them to spend a $1000. night at this Inn?
If those that have, have spent 7or 8 years in college and another 20 working and building income is it then ok for them ot spend the night at this Inn?
If those that have, do not spend some of what they have at places like this, won’t the unemployment line get longer?
You really need to look at the whole picture….housekeepers, bellhops, cooks, waitstaff, groundskeepers, Etc…are all employed because of this one business. We NEED people to want to come and spend spend spend!!!!!
Not only that but @ 7% lodging rate tax the state does fairly well also.
If they can get that kind of money, more power too them. But looking at the room images from those high-end suites at the Camden Harbour Inn, it doesn’t look like what I would go to Maine to experience. It looks very cold and big-city-chic. The images from Belfast Bay or the White Barn Inn are more like what I would want to experience at a high-end place in Maine. Elegant, and not looking like it was furnished from Overstock.com.
Charge what the traffic will bear. But, I agree with Crackalacka about where the “extra” money comes from; make ’em pay!
are you kidding…….HELLO, your one of the people paying …your tax dollars will afford their luxury.. tax write offs…. prolly lots of politicians will use these facilities…… what cha think now?
Until a Congress with guts enough to change the law pass a law that takes care of the mess we’re in what choice to people like you an I have. Milk the weasels for everything they have, that way at least some of their ill-gotten gains will serve some purpose. what cha think now?
Our middle class is disappearing, 50 million Americans can’t afford a doctor, and rich people can toss away cash to lounge in a private jacuzzi.
Yep, and still have money left over to pay most of the taxes paid in this country. Maybe the rich should just give all of their money to the government (as the government “knows best” how to spend taxpayer money).
I still do not understand the complete hatred for wealthy people displayed in the comment section of the BDN (other than the Obama drones who must repeat everything he says).
Tax the rich to death to pay for everything. Then, nobody has any incentive to become wealthy as their money is taken to pay for everybody else. The wealthy now pay most of the taxes in this country.
So, nobody should pay to stay at this hotel, nobody should buy private aircraft, yachts, fancy cars, build big mansions, etc. So we might as well have all high end hotels, yacht companies, high end car dealers, contractors just fold up now since people who have the money for their services should just be ashamed of themselves.
My point is that there is something wrong in a country where the middle class, composed of hard-working people, is disappearing, while at the same time the wealthy have quadrupled their wealth.
My impression is that you are ranting in anger, not thinking things through.
The problem in this country is Greed and all the symptoms of that sickness, like not caring about people, and accusing others of hate. It makes sense. Greedy people strive to get more and more while not caring about other people. This pattern is reflected in our attitudes and wealth distribution today.
Just like a telltale fingerprint.
Bye
I am not ranting out of hate. The hate seems to be coming from the libs (toward the wealthy). I do not begrudge anybody spending their money how they wish. I figure if you are dropping $1000/night on a hotel room (which I could never fathom doing, even if I had that kind of money), then you are certainly at an income level where you are paying quite a bit of money in taxes. Nothing in this article indicates to me that people who would pay for these rooms are somehow greedy. They have they money and want to pay it (which certainly helps the Camden economy by helping keep this hotel in business). It doesn’t bother me.
I think there are plenty of caring people in the US. That said, I do not believe that just because people want to keep more of what they earn as opposed to giving it to the government, they are greedy. I am middle class and I think my wife and I pay more than enough in taxes. I, however, think we should focus on making it less attractive to NOT work than focusing on the rich who are demonized. We have a far bigger spending problem than we have a revenue problem.
I see laziness, learned helplessness, and the entire “somebody owes me a place to live/food/cash/healthcare” attitude as a far bigger issue for this country than greed (perceived or real).
Maybe that’s your problem. You see laziness and helplessness because that’s what the people who caused this economic crisis wants you to see. If you look at the objective facts those people who don’t want to work represent a very small percentage of the population. The vast majority of unemployed people want to work and are willing to work for much less.
I don’t hate the wealthy. They do what they do and most are motivated by creating businesses that seek to achieve excellence. Certainly that’s true for most small businesses. The issue is the political power they weld and the effect that it has had on the middle class. All this nonsense about socialism when all I want is a return to the tax and investment structures of the Clinton years (before Glass/Steagal) a return to the objective evaluation of national defense costs and a foreign policy that puts diplomacy before preemptive war. This was the republican conservative agenda for a hundred years before Reagan.
I want a Congress that can do it’s job! Pass a budget and deal with the multitude of serious issues facing the country, not vote 33 times to repeal ACA.
Also, the money spent on that high end room gets spent here in Maine and grows the economy. Excellent reply.
If all you ‘see’ is a negative then it explains much. There are many positives in life, surround yourself with some for a change.
The right has grabbed onto you and made you a believer in all their lies.
Liberals..ideas so good..they have to be made mandatory!
Agreed. I would also be in the middle class, and contrary to what Obama and his followers preach, my taxes have risen for the past (3) years.
The BS that Obama spews into the camera during interviews and debates rivals Clinton’s lies. He has every intention of winning this election on the votes of non-taxpayers, welfare, immigrants, homosexuals, etc. Hard to believe that Obama would get a single vote from anyone who actually pays income taxes.
Why can’t these people see how ridiculous it is for Obama to have Clinton (the biggest liar ever) running support commercials calling Romney a liar?
you have cued in very well about the biggest problem in America – it is indeed greed that have done in all societies before us. It will destroy America too…actually, it is well underway.
Hey, Spruce, you have got it right! You have and do express exactly what has happen in American in the last 50 years, the things that have changed and are destroying he U.S., your comments are usually 95 percent absolutely right.
Hating the rich is illogical and unproductive. I am appalled, however, by proposals to reduce the taxes paid by the rich, given the context of our current economic situation.
There have been times in US history when the rich paid higher rates of taxes than they do now and when the economy did very well.
Why are we even talking about reducing taxes paid by the rich until the national debt is paid down considerably?
I have no problem with people working hard to get rich. But the the people who pay $1000 for a hotel room are not the “worked hard all their lives and want to splurge” types, they are the “cut employee benefits and wages to raise stockholder profits” types.
They are greedy sociopaths who will do what ever it takes to profit, even it means hurting and stealing from those who were had the misfourtune of being born poor.
Wow, I never realized that everyone with the means to spend $1000/night for a hotel (which, again, I will never understand) was automatically evil and a sociopath.
And for the record, just because somebody is born poor does not mean they are destined to remain there. I grew up in what was probably considered very lower middle class. Many of my friends families had nicer homes, cars, more vacations, etc. Does that mean I should have played the victim about how some evil rich people have apparently kept me down?
I worked hard in school, valued my education (as did my parents), went to college, got a degree…worked some more, got another degree, worked some more and got a 3rd one. This isn’t magic, people. There are ways to do things without further enabling the “taught helplessness” crowd who expect that the worlds owes them something. I think this country does an awful lot for its poor (as do many of those evil rich people who donate to countless charities).
Now, a few degrees later and a lot of hard work, I live comfortably. I am not wealthy, nor will I ever be given my career, but I can live ok, pay my bills, and pay my taxes.
I still have never understood what it is that the wealthy have apparently “stolen” from the poor.
Very well said.
Their ambition obviously.
That’s pretty harsh isn’t it?
How do you know they aren’t the “worked hard all their lives” types? I have no idea what the ratio is to people that inherited their wealth versus people that built themselves up from nothing, but I would wager that “old money” isn’t what it used to be. This isn’t the day and age of Standard Oil anymore.
Some of the world’s wealthiest people came from very humble beginnings. I don’t think they’re all evil, money-grubbing a-holes. I’m sure there are a few of the ruthless types that don’t care about anyone, but that has to be the minority.
Stop hating people that have more in life than you do. It’s petty and it will just make you bitter.
Show your proof your statements are true.
Enron, Goldman Sachs, subprime mortgage crisis etc…
http://www.forbes.com/2002/07/25/accountingtracker.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_corporate_scandals
and these are only the companies that get caught…
You are a fool to think that executives at any of these companies cared about who they hurt, they only cared about having more and more.
Totally agree, I’m afraid that a fast majority in Maine will see this differently. The fact that the state of Maine likely is delighted to receive $70 taxes of every night the hotel is selling a suite; the delight will be damped when you realize a big part ends up in the pockets of all the people that are unemployed or seeking social benefits. So, although many less fortunate are benefiting from ‘out of state rich visitors’ it is still not enough for the less wealthy. How short sighted can you be! To be clear I don’t mind paying more taxes but I do mind paying more taxes to cover unemployment when there are still a lot of (seasonal) job openings in Maine. I would suggest, to get out of your seat,take a job even when it is for a few months, and be thankful that so many with money find Maine worthwhile visiting!
Please tell me you are not a writer for NYCmagazine because if you can get a job w/those spelling/punctuation errors, I have to wonder where the rest of your thinking comes from.
You fail to understand, NYC, that jobs that pay living wages are few and far between here, unless one’s father/brother-in-law or buddy is named Lepage.
And don’t for one minute think Mainers are lazy. That’s a perception foisted on voters by the current repugnantcan machine, but it won’t wash here. Going back many generations, Mainers have been known as industrious, hard-working, reliable employees. Your suggestion that there are still a lot of job openings in Maine is not accurate. And “than” (sic) just take a job that pays less is not a foreign concept, either. Mainers do not need to be told how to survive up here. They have done it for years and years.
Actually I do, unfortunately my not so smart phone can not be trusted. Some of the hottest fields in Maine right now are health care, computer science, high-tech manufacturing, sustainable energy and almost anything having to do with science or math, experts say. The numbers back them up. Also seasonal jobs, including housekeeping, restaurant jobs etc are outsourced to workers from all over the world, while unemployment is over 7%. I don’t understand how you find it acceptable that people collect unemployment, while at the same time you allow people from Jamaica to clean motel rooms for $7.75 and a bit of tip money?
The “imports” doing the seasonal work that local residents should be doing are living in, most likely, employer paid/provided housing and are probably also brought to and from work. Add to that, they take/send their paychecks back home where that money goes a heck of a lot further too.
What you do not understand is macroeconomic policy. Extending unemployment benefits is a direct stimulus, not to mention good social policy. It means that people who were working and doing all the right things have a shot at staying in their homes and providing for their families. Why are people so quick to support the suffering of people who are the result. Why are we not holding the people responsible accountable?
We should not even be having this conversation and we would not be if workers were not powerless to influence economic policy. They are powerless because workers are too uninformed to understand that the only thing that Washington responds to is political power. The only political power of any effect is unions which is exactly why Reagan set about to destroy them. Make a graph and compare the loss of wages and the export of jobs with the loss of union membership and maybe you will see for yourself.
Why do you think that the Addleson’s and Koch’s are so intent on killing the unions? I’ll tell you why, because it is the only political force standing between their greed and your paycheck and your pension. If you want to trust your future to a guy who can write a check for $35 million dollars to influence a election, good luck with that. Every state that is controlled by the republican’s are pushing bills to weaken unions and disenfranchise voters. Believe what you want about what Romney/Ryan are promising, but compare that to what republican’s are actually doing with their new found power.
Lepage is a good example. His first official act was to give a $500 million dollar tax cut without even making an attempt to cut costs. This is classic “starve the beast” He wants you to blame the unemployed and the disabled who are the result of failed policy, not the cause. Lepage is still calling them “job creators” so, where are the jobs? He can’t even get a gas pipeline built. A pipeline that will save Mainer’s 40% of their energy bill the day it comes on line. Another 40% on travel if he builds infrastructure to supply vehicles.
He didn’t have a problem fast tracking the tax cut, how about this? Is it a coincidence that natural gas would compete with the Koch brothers coal?
Nut
derp
I asked a mid coast Maine innkeeper why they employ foreign hospitality workers. Well, the local girl they hired for chambermaid showed up half the time, spent most of the time arguing on the phone with her boyfriend, or her three kids, and only wanted to work long enough to be able to go on unemployment. The foreign workers the innkeeper resorted to are young, courteous, loyal, unencumbered, interesting, and grateful.
86’d
News flash: You cannot fix things by just increasing wages. If you increase minimum wage to $10/hr, the price of a Big Mac and a loaf of bread and a jug of milk all goes up as well. All you’ve done is stimulate inflation at that point.
This is the same reason that union facilities close. You get a bunch of entitled people that think they deserve $26/hr to do an unskilled job with mandated pay raises and then they’re all shocked when the plant cannot afford to compete in the marketplace and is forced to close. Know why the Japanese are building more and more cars here? Because their plants are non-union. When they don’t have to pay union wages, it no longer becomes cheaper to build overseas and import their products.
Why do people have such a difficult time understanding that industries serving the wealthy provide good paying jobs for the industries that cater to them? Private aircraft and luxury yachts employ skilled labor to build the craft and then there are all of the downstream industries that exist to service and support their cars, airplanes and boats. These folks with money who visit Maine spend money in Maine and they aren’t all U.S. citizens – some actually are visiting from other countries and spending money here. I have an idea: let’s tell all these “rich” folks to go to hell – they aren’t welcome in Maine and then lets sit back and see how much good that does everybody in Maine.
oh c’mon, the wealthy in this country pay a negligible amount of their personal income on taxes – remember Leona H’s truism, “only the little people pay taxes.” Combine that comment with Marie A.’s callous remark about the peasants having no bread, “Let them eat cake,” and you might develop a clue about what sparks revolutions. The conspicuous consumers are always the first to go – conspicuous consumption should not be envied, but the people who shove it in others faces should be treated as gauche as they are.
Greed = the only addiction we give people awards for in America.
The hatred is jealousy and greed. They want to ‘take’ from others so they don’t have to do the work themselves. Didn’t anyone learn anything about Russia?
Why don’t you blame the companies that sent all there jobs over seas they are the ones causing it
We shouldn’t blame the companies that sent jobs overseas. Their focus is profit, as it should be. Companies work to maximize profit and shareholder equity. They have no responsibility to produce a sustainable economy.
It is the governments role to set economic policy that is effective and sustainable. Business benefits from sound predictable economic policy, but more importantly citizens benefit from a viable, sustainable economy. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We know what works because it was working just fine until the “starve the beast” republican’s got power. Congress is not doing it’s job setting the direction of the economy. Businesses can not plan and that fact alone is responsible for a full percent unemployment.
We have a choice in a couple of weeks. If you think that the oligarchs that run the country are interested in your future, good luck with that.
So people should not whine then because people are not working an compainies that move over seas could care less about the united state
They absolutely should whine, complain, protest, organize and do everything in their power to get Congress to do their jobs.
This is not rocket science. The only problem the US has is a Congress that is not making policy that gives working people a fair deal. We the people have lost our ability to make them do their jobs and are looking to the president to solve problems he does not have the authority to solve.
Billions of dollars are being spent to tell you how you should vote. It is effective. Just watch the polls change after meaningless debates and particularly effective ads. Our system is turned upside down with those at the top telling those at the bottom how to think and how to vote. It is the opposite of how a republic is supposed to work.
Elect Romney and the economy will immediately turn around. No company is going to spend money as long as Obama is in office. Most are waiting to see what happens. Obama will cause them to stay in slow mode for another (4) years.
Whether it’s Romney or Obama, no company is gonna start creating jobs on American soil anyway. Most companies are NOT waiting to see what the election holds – they have been making exponential profits in China for too many years now. NAFTA and CAFTA already did us in. I’ll stick with Obama, since he has far less at stake than Romney does in China’s economy.
That’s probably not why you would stick with Obama.
I will tell you that our favorite Canadian oil company, that spends millions all over New England, has been doing minimal maintenance at their facilities until they see what the election brings. Romney wins, and they will begin the upgrades that are planned.
Also, Exxon/Mobil has a projected view to the year 2025 out. One path shows a stagnant view if Obama wins, the other path shows expansion and growth if Romney wins. You may not like the oil companies, but they provide good jobs in the upper salary level.
Companies ARE making decisions based on the election.
What a ridiculous statement. Businesses operate on a single principle, profit. They respond to markets and demand. Do you seriously believe that any business can afford to sit back and ignore opportunity?
Businesses respond to demand and demand is created when people buy things. People are not buying because most of them are paying down their debt. Romney is not going to magically change that in spite of what he says.
There is uncertainty holding back some investment that is related to sequestration, but that is a result of our dysfunctional Congress. That will not change if Romney gets elected. That will only change when we the people demand Congress do it’s job.
Oh really?
They’re not ignoring opportunity. They are making investment decisions based on what they believe the economy will do.
As far as Congress goes, do you think that they are magically going to start cooperating with Obama’s lame ideas if he’s re-elected? They haven’t for (4) years. What do you think is going to change?
50 million people should have taken advantage of the opportunities in this country to better themselves and not expect those who have done so to provide for them.
So you have it all planned out, you haven’t made a misstep and you have no health worries.
Nice.
Not everyone has the same lot in life and not everyone has the ability to make a lot of money through the course of their lives, not every working person can afford health care.
Of course when a person has such a narrow view of life they can’t see the forest for the trees.
Holy smokes! A private Jacuzzi?!?
What would you suggest the cutoff be for a motel room before someone gets branded evil? $50? $100?
I think it is wonderful that Camden Harbour Inn is able to attract a different clientele. Maine needs people who are able to bring in money, just imagine how much taxes a property like Camden Harbour Inn collects. I disagree with UnaClamcake, we stayed at White Barn Inn last year and the rooms were old, badly decorated and no charm whatsoever. I rather stay in a modern room with designer furniture than at a place that reminds me of my grandmother.
well now if that isn”t ………….one SAD commentary…….(quote)…..I rather stay in a modern room with designer furniture than at a place that reminds me of “my grandmother” how sad for you..
I would sleep in a barn or Yurt, if being meant I would be reminded of my grandmother….
No not sad at all, love my grandmother dearly and she would totally agree that if you spend that kind of money, you are not looking for worn furniture that is uncomfortable and old. The truth is that my grandmother actually loves new and design furniture, so I guess it runs in the family.
If they got it to spend…so what. Maybe they should just give it to the jealous ones instead but that still wouldn’t make them happy, they would demand more. Besides, it is THEIR money and they can spend it anyway they want. I am glad they are spending it in MAINE.
It”s not their money they earned…. THINK about it!!!
But the chambermaid who works full time and gets paid $7.50 an hour is an irresponsible 47 per-center whose greedy demand for food stamps is destroying America!
I think the working poor are certainly not destroying America. Our penchant for giving hand out after hand out to people who view our system of welfare as a career choice is far more dangerous to the future of America. I would MUCH rather help the working poor than give hand outs to people who do nothing but have kid after kid, never work, and expect society to take care of them. Then, we could help the working poor to advance quicker by giving the aid to those who are trying to help themselves, but our society that creates more learned helplessness is not helping anybody (well, except Obama who got elected and as long as he promises somebody else’s money to others, I suspect he will get re-elected).
You are looking for recovery in the wrong place. Nobody is making welfare a career choice. That ended with Clinton over a decade ago. The assistance given to people in response to the economic collapse is already bare bones.
Obama is not promising somebody else’s money to others, he is applying sound macroeconomic policy. The Bush tax cuts were ill conceived without corresponding cuts in spending. Then Bush lies to invade Iraq and adds another $4 TRILLION dollar hit.
The right wing has pursued a “starve the beast” agenda since Reagan. Bush just pushed the economy off a cliff with the support of the republican party. The same republican party that has obstructed every attempt to invest our way out. This is the worst Congress in the history of the United States. Even Clinton’s Congress passed 300 bills. The republican’s have voted 33 times to repeal the ACA and have blocked every attempt to invest.
Now Romney is selling the same old failed trickle down. We’ve had tax cuts, we’ve deregulated to the point of economic collapse. If this was going to work it would be showing some proof. The facts show what progressive economists have been saying for decades. More of what produced this is insane.
Obama had the House and Senate for the first two years.
That is a myth spread by the right. Democrats do not vote in unison with the party. They tend to vote for their constituents instead of the party bosses.
He really only had the second year – Obama wasted his honeymoon and precious capital the rest of 2009 by trying to shake hands across the aisle – unfortunately, Republicans sat on their hands and concocted a scam on the American people to TRY to make Obama fail. trisailer is correct – I’ll go one further: This group of Republican Congressmen and Congresswomen are shamefully unAmerican! I’m not one to use that phrase lightly – it definitely applies here.
Why don’t you blame the places that do pay $7:50 an hour an call them greedy an slave masters
im thinking that chambermaid can go to college and get a degree or go somewhere else that pays more. i was a chambermaid there are other options.
A hotel that charges $1,000 a night most certainly needs chambermaids. There are thousands of types of menial jobs that NEED to be done all over America. Somewhere along the way we decided that the people who do them don’t deserve a living wage. The rich have grown exponentially richer over the last 30 years while real wages for everyone else have stagnated.
And there are hundreds of thousands of college graduates who cannot find good paying jobs and struggle to pay off hefty student loans while doing jobs that don’t require the education they received.
We’ll leave the light on for ya!
The one-percenters, I guess, yacht conventions in the summer, money crawling up the the coast of Maine, we are in a depression, this is what was described to me by Great Depression Era people, that had been in Maine during that time, the rich would motor to Bar Harbor and beyond in their Pierce Arrow cars, stay in luxury at the Inns all summer. What will end this depression for the working poor,is anybody’s question, certainly not the vote.
This is not a depression, prices are not going down. We are in recovery, it’s just not enough growth to produce jobs in the numbers necessary and at pay levels that can sustain a family.
The great depression was ended by government investment and took a decade and a world war to finally end.
There is no doubt among most economists about what it will take to restore the US economy. It is investment. Currently the US is investing 2% of GDP, China is investing 10% of GDP. The tax cuts for the rich and deregulation which produced this economic disaster has only shifted wealth upwards and now we have $25 TRILLION sitting in offshore banks to show for it.
The vote certainly can have an impact. We can choose to elect leaders who will take decisive action to get the economy going and get rid of the people who are obstructing the recovery.
I am not sure that I stuttered, your opinion is one opinion, but, as I travel around Maine, and have conversations with working people, there is not question we are in a depression. Snowe and Collins, probably are 90 percent responsible for the problems in Maine, their embracing GWB and the Iraq War invasion, and seeing to the tax cuts for the rich, them included, the Feds have shifted expenses from the Feds to the States, the States shifted expenses to the Towns and the Towns have shifted expenses to the taxpayer, mainly the property tax payer, and the property tax burdens has just about reached it’s limit, that the working people can bare. We gave our industrial might away, overseas, to save a few pennies, the enhance the stock holders of these companies, we as individuals buy cars not made in the U.S., that which I call almost unbelievable if you are lucky to be American, we should be proud to drive American car. I do not think the vote will cure this, it will take each and every American, leaders, and politicians, thinking the same way, to rebuilt this countries industrial might, and to see our kids have a future. If you do not think this is a depression, take a paupers oath, leave all previous wealth you have, and get a job at Walmart and start life brand new, and tell me this is not a depression.
I think we are in agreement. I’m not going to quibble about the definition of depression. For the guy out of work it is the same.
My complaint is placing blame on working people and the poor for problems they had no hand in, but are being made to suffer. I know several people who used to work for me in the paper mill. Where is a 50 year old paper maker going to go to work? I have worked in the mills and these people gave 110%. I have also worked in Corporate and seen huge productivity gains get wiped out with the stroke of a pen. The CEO’s are not evil, they are doing their job. The issue is giving the CEO’s and the workers policies that give both a fighting chance and that is the job of Congress.
Globalization overall is a good thing for America, but we have not managed it well. We have plenty to sell to other countries and we are the worlds leader in creative innovation.
Our only problem is half the government, the republican’s are intent of starving the beast and handicapping our talents. We spend way too much on guns and not enough on butter. That is the most basic macroeconomic principle there is.
I know we can turn this around in less than a decade. We only need about 4% growth to produce full employment. The way out is investment by the government. Interest is zero, there are so many things to be done I wouldn’t know where to start, but they all will produce returns far exceeding their costs. We need to get back to thinking and planning for decades not next week.
Don’t bother. Some blind men will never see.
Regardless of what you think of these wealthy people who can afford such rooms, shouldn’t Maine try to get them to drop as many of these dollars here as we can? Is there any downside to courting the luxury traveling market?
As a native of Central Maine who returns home at least once a year to visit, I understand where most of the complainers about this article are coming from. Most of Central and Northern Maine is characterized by low-budget motels rather than high-end hotels and inns, and most of the residents aren’t making six-figure salaries or taking luxury vacations. But you really need to keep it in perspective and not just react to this out of ignorance or jealousy. There are thousands-upon-thousands of $1000/night luxury suites in hotels and resorts all over this globe, and they aren’t sitting empty, waiting for the next evil corporate executive to come visit, even in this economy. You should be happy that someone in your part of the world finally has the foresight to go after that market and bring that money to the State of Maine instead of New York City or the Caribbean or California or China or Paris or … wherever! Wake up and try to understand that the world is bigger than your impoverished little town. And if you’re just jealous, get a damn education and go find a job somewhere you can make a decent living. Unfortunately, that’s very, very difficult these days in Central Maine.
As a timely illustration: I just happened to get an email from TripAdvisor today with a link to this sampling of 10 “extravagant” hotels. Look at the prices, look at the diverse locations, and look at the hundreds of reviews, and maybe you’ll begin to understand that there is a huge market for upscale accommodations anywhere that anyone would want to travel (so, why not Vacationland?) And it’s clearly not just a handful of 1%-er corporate titans that are staying in these places. There are a lot of people in the world with a lot of money. I’m sorry if you’re not one of them, but that’s no reason to resent smart business owners making an honest buck catering to that market. http://www.tripadvisor.com/InfoCenter-a_ctr.extravhotels
I just gave the Inn a thumbs up.
My complete comment is awaiting approval(?).
Not sure what I said that was of concern.
Will my positive message get past the censors at bdn.com ?
Come on folks, get more of a global view. Just because you and/or I can’t afford it does not make it wrong for those who can to stay at places like this. Every major city in the world has hotels with rooms and rates like this for those that choose to spend the money. So maybe an average working class honeymooning couple has saved for a year to have a once in a lifetime experience in a place like this, does that make it and them evil? $10 at McDonalds or $100 at Massimo’s… it’s your choice and your money. Do with it as you please. I rarely eat fast food or at chains, I can cook better and cheaper myself at home, but a couple times a year I’ll drop $100+ on a dinner with my wife at a high end place just because we enjoy the experience. Is that wrong? I think it’s great that Coastal Maine can entice that business. More power to them. The clientele will surely spend more of their money while they are here. That helps everybody. There’s a beer crowd and a champagne crowd. Nothing wrong with that.
I’m clearly not in the right league. I got a “cheap” room online and lived to regret it. I guess this hotel doesn’t have any great rooms on the discount sites, huh? Just askin’
Ah, the joys of trickle down economics at work in Maine. The wealthy pour out of cruise ships and their expensive cars and drop money all over the best of Maine. Just save this when OBIE talks about bottom’s up economic development…..but you’d have to go to WALMART to hear this pep talk or consult a gay economist.
Best of wishes gentlemen. It is clear that you have poured a ton of work and investment into this property. Many people are sitting on gold mines but have no idea how to recognize that but you did. If there is the demand and you are creating the only supply then more power to you. There are those in mom and dads basement that are too lazy to get off the couch that will criticize your efforts but who cares. They will never have the means to stay at your place because all they can think about is finding ways to milk the government (taxpayer) and find additional ways to steal from the wealthy. I know the next time I decide to take the boat down to Camden and grab a lunch at Camden Deli or some nachos at Cappy’s Chowder House I will come by for a tour. Once again, best of wishes.
I was agreeing with you up until the rant about lazy kids on mom and dads couch.
Since you brought it up, it is a very small percentage of people who sit around looking for ways to milk the government. The majority of people on unemployment are looking for work, did all the right things to educate themselves and would in fact be working if not for the shortsighted economic policies that produced the recession and put them out of work.
The people receiving assistance are the product of failed economic policy, not the cause.
No one is looking to steal from the rich. We just don’t support tax cuts for them that they didn’t ask for and adds to the debt. There is an effort to RESTORE the tax rates of the Clinton era for those earning over $250K because it is just good economic policy.
Giving the tax cuts to the rich while starting wars was the worst possible combination that Bush could have done. We have seen the short term destruction to the economy, but the long term effects of the lack of investment, the lack of planning for the future and the dysfunction of Congress is yet to be seen.
I hope you enjoy your next boat trip. Consider yourself lucky if you have a job. I know several extremely competent guys in their 50’s who do not and cannot get one.
Well. I was right there with you until the word “I”. I’m guessing you weren’t an economics major. Good luck.
keep those blinders on – life is so much simpler that way.
You are spot on. Allowing a temporary tax cut to sunset the way it was intended is NOT a tax increase. There seems to be very few people who “get it” – it’s always a pleasure to to read a post from someone who gets the big picture, and who comprehends cause and effect.
Ain’t ya somethin’.
We all know you only post for your own entertainment and don’t care about the real human condition. As long as the brass is polished all is well for ya.
They better have bidets for that overinflated price. Gold plated ones……
Being a modest man, when I checked into my hotel on a recent trip, I
said to the lady at the registration desk, “I hope the porn channel in
my room is disabled.” To which, she replied, “No, it’s regular porn, you
sick bastard; like any other hotel……., NO disrespect intended!!!!!!!almost all hotels have Bed Bugs, and nasty on the bed covers, but maybe …there are Hi end bed bugs…Ya Think????
Was there a bidet in the room? First thing I do in any hotel room is remove the cover and throw it in a corner.
Rich people can dirty up a room like anyone else can.
No bidet…..I bring my own Linen and a can of Lysol spray!!! I have nothing against rich people, just how some of them are so frivolous!! yes I get it, it is their money!!! dammit no one needs to sleep in a bed that cost over a thou bucks a night! I don”t believe their quality of rest is any better than a $200-$300 a night bed!! ridiculous!!
For that price a bidet seems appropriate.
Yeah great so those “from away” can buy their temporary slice of Maine, “the way life should be” for $1000 per night.
But will those immigrants who have set up this eye-watering $$ precedent be offering a special deal for those in-the-service or veterans-who-have served?Nope! Thought not :-( This deal is only for those without a conscience but with the ackers to buy everything they want. I hope they sleep safe in their cots at night knowing that steadfast patriots guard them every single second of their rich, privileged lives.
From a US and ME admirer here in the UK.
May God Bless the USA and Keep Her Safe, Ayuh !!!!
Gawd $1000 (US) won’t buy a night in some London Hostelries
This is a case of: People who have more money than brains.
Stop being jealous of wealthy people ..and get busy emulating them!! work! Damn..i broke my neck in 1992 and I still work!
But Keith you hard worker you, the question is ar you rich from all that work and suffering?
People get rich because of luck, their parents, and through an ability to make others “work hard” for them.
Not bad skills, but to say a kid born to Alcoholic sometimey mill workers has as good a chance at getting “rich” as the son of a major car company C.E.O. and Governor of a large State is just silly.
Enough with the judgments! Ray and Oscar are the consummate business neighbors. They work hard to grow and maintain a highly successful business that caters to all – from high & mid-end overnight guests to local folks who patronize the bar for Happy Hour and special events – local and year round. They also happen to employ many neighbors who are grateful that their business plan is comprehensive and all-inclusive. With that, it has the best chance for survival in these tough economic times.
In fact we were asked for our “judgements” (this is the poll question)
How much are they paying the “neighbors” to clean, make beds and wash dishes. Hey I cleaned for “rich folks’ once, they can be as messy as poor people. I worked in a middle class motel too, and I’m here telling you that the people with less money tip better!
Does the $1,000 a night rate include a Zumba lesson?
I think it’s wonderful that these guys saw a market and exploited it. Camden is a beautiful place that can be experienced on many levels by people of any income bracket. It’s not easy to please people in the hospitality business, but these guys have put it all together to delight them. Their bookings reflect that.
I respect businesses that put it all together and achieve excellence.
They are not just selling a room, they’re selling a unique experience of Maine.
In contrast, I’ve seen my share of businesses that could be doing a lot better if they would focus on exceeding peoples expectations.
Though the Camden Harbour Inn may be the first in Maine to reach the $1,000-per-night plateau,
Ooh, spell it with a “u” and you can charge double…
I feel kind of sorry for these people who “expect the very
best” blah blah. I’m glad that these
businesses employ Maine people. And I like
to go to nice places once in awhile, good restaurants, museums out of state
etc. I think it’s very important to travel, meet all kinds of people, experience
different cultures, and see all that we are privileged to behold in this short
life. But in the real Maine, I’m glad to walk out my door and look at the ever-changing
beauty of nature, learn about the woods and animals in a way that never ends,
look up at the stars above us, be with my neighbors and friends through thick
and thin, not have to splash around money to who how great you are, understand that
ordinary people have stories and mysteries that will surprise you the
longer you know them. In spite of our
many problems, at its best Maine is a place where you can just stop, look around
and be at peace with what has been given us. That’s a privilege one does not necessarily find in a high end “market experience” of Maine.
The crazy thing for me is this: I have a dream of renting a cabin for a week in Maine in summer so that when I come back home to visit my people, I can invite THEM to come visit us rather than taking up their space and eating their food. I’m trying to save a thousand dollars because I’ve found several where that pays for a week. I can’t imagine spending a thousand bucks for ONE night, no matter HOW beautifully appointed the room/suite! I don’t think I could do it even if I *was* rich! It just doesn’t seem “right” to me. If somebody else paid for it or I won a contest or something, I’m sure it would be nice. Still….not my style.
But then again, I’m a displaced native, not a tourist. It’s the woods and water that I want to hang out in , not my hotel room.
Gonna keep saving up! I miss Maine so much.
Just to be clear: I’m not knocking those who provide or who pay for these accomodations. It’s great for them. I’m just saying I personally can hardly conceive of such expense. If I won the lottery, I might try it just for fun. But then I’d go camping. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl. :)
A fool and their money are soon parted. There is nothing like money to make one FEEL like they are a little better than everyone else. What would be the point in chasing money if it did not make you feel a little bit superior to everyone else?
If people are willing to pay for it and they feel as though they are getting a good return for that amount of money, why not do it? There are still plenty of hotel rooms for those that cannot afford this level of service.
No thank you I would not stay in a $1,000 night hotel in Maine. There are enough snots to contend with at $100.00 a night so I can’t imagine what it would be like at the high end motel.
Our own Steve King is rich, but look at the money he gives to charity and good causes. He has enough left over to pay for a room like this if he wants. Don’t hate him because he’s been successful. Read his bio; he worked long and hard for his money. It’s HIS money; he gives it out as he sees fit, not as the government sees fit.
It is called gouging. They will get caught up with eventually.
Hate people because they are rich? Nah. I don’t hate them, but in fact contrary to the contention that most of these people have “earned” their own wealth, the fact is that most VERY wealthy people got their money the old fashioned way, They inherited it.
People like Don Trump didn’t start out at the botton either. Don’s Dad was a wealthy real estate developer in Queens, and the money in the Trump fortune comes from that seed money.
Our system is very unfair. There are many folks who worked hard all their lives in jobs that we needed done, but they get few financial rewards. People who pick up our trash, folks who stock the stores where we buy food, clothes and hardware, and the folks who raked the blueberries who gave big wealthy individuals the labor to become big wealthy individuals, like the Whitney Family, the Foster Family, and the Wymans.
Wealth is not distributed by level or amount of work, It generally (not always) flows to the ruthless, the people who hold business above community, and those who are willing to exploit others for their own gain (like the Walton family).
No, I don’t hate the rich, but I sure do not respect the system that fails to reward necessary work (coal miners, Truck Drivers, teachers, and crop harvesters) but compensates unnecessary work at a level one could describe as “outlandish” (sports stars, entertainers, and money manipulators).
To get the point that I am trying to make ask yourself about your own parents; did they work hard enough to deserve a couple of nights in the “high end Camden Inns?” Do they deserve it more than Lindsey Lohan, Charlie Sheen, or Jane Fonda?
No surprise that a rich outlier who pays a grand a night for a B&B suite wants three flat-screen TVs. One for each eye?
Wonder what they are paying their housekeeping staff? Are they locals or are they J-9’s brought in from Romania, Poland, Estonia?
Camden blows..full of libtards with obama stickers on there subaru ‘s..volvos and saabs !hell I would charge em’ more just to put up with them!
So what if someone wants to charge $1000.00 for a special romantic night at an Inn or $1000.00 for a cruise. I think there is alot of jealousy here. Why is it any of our business how someone spends their money. There are people working at the Inn’s………and paying their taxes. Would I spend this much for a night at a luxury Inn? Maybe…….wedding…..anniversary…..after saving
Great way to take nothing and turn it into something.
“The world is your oyster.”
I think this is a wonderful thing! Maine has a reputation of beautiful coastal towns and why not bring in more wealthy people into Maine to vacation – it will definately boost the economy here by them visiting other areas of Maine, eating out and shopping. I don’t see the need to hate! I am far from being a wealthy person and I am not jealous of those that are.
Geez….get a grip people.
You don’t need to be wealthy to spend $500-$1000 on a hotel room. Just need to have a vacation account and a desire to do something different.
Just because some people have a better income or different priorities than yourself doesn’t mean they are evil or greedy.