Rutland Herald
By BRUCE EDWARDS
Correspondent | March 28,2016
Correspondent | March 28,2016
Albert J. Marro / Staff File Photo
New owners of the Summit Lodge in Killington plan to raise their
daughter in Vermont along with two Saint Bernards to carry on tradition.
This hay sculpture was built in 2013.
KILLINGTON — One of the town’s oldest resort hotels has been sold to a Florida couple for $1.4 million.
Emmett and Laura O’Dwyer of Fort Lauderdale purchased the 45-room Summit Lodge on Killington Road earlier this month from Bill Bauer.
“We’ve been looking for about two years now, upstate New York, New Hampshire (and) Vermont for somewhere to relocate,” O’Dwyer said.
He said they were looking “for a nice environment” where they could raise Orlaith, their 2-year-old daughter.
“Killington, Vermont is a great place to raise a child and grow up and a great place for us to be as well,” he said.
O’Dwyer, a native of Ireland, is no stranger to the hospitality industry.
“I’ve run and owned hotels and restaurants and also run and owned a project management company,” he said.
O’Dwyer’s experience includes both owning and running hotels primarily in London but also Ireland.
The Summit Lodge was one of the first hotels built after the Killington Ski Area opened in 1958.
The 16,305-square-foot building sits on 8.36 acres and includes dining and banquet rooms with seating for 180, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pool and parking for 60 cars.
Ray Ault, a commercial Realtor who brokered the sale, said the Summit Lodge has a profitable track record, which is the exception.
According to the prospectus, the property has grossed between $850,000 and $1.1 million a year for the last 10 years.
The local market for hotels and restaurants remains soft, however.
“Overall, the Rutland-Killington market has not been good to hospitality businesses in terms of resales,” said Ault, who owns Ault Commercial Realty. “They’ve been great buys — a low sale price is a great opportunity for buyers — but they are also more cautious when they buy.”
The weak market is evidenced by several properties along Route 4 leading to Killington that remain vacant while others have changed hands at foreclosure auctions, Ault said.
“The Summit is one of the few that is healthy and sells on the basis of both the value of the hard assets and the cash flow value of the business,” he said.
Ault added that the hospitality industry is not favored by many lenders, especially when it comes to a closed restaurant.
O’Dwyer said one of the first items on his to-do list is a technology upgrade, with VTel putting in fiber optic lines which will improve the hotel’s Internet and WiFi connections. Efficiency Vermont has also been involved, helping with making the property more energy efficient.
O’Dwyer also said there will be some routine cosmetic improvements.
Most of the hotel staff will be staying on, including Bill Miller, who was promoted to general manager.
“A lot of the team that’s here has been here such a long time they know the routine,” O’Dwyer said.
He said both the Vermont Economic Development Authority and VSECU helped with financing.
Bauer, who owned the hotel for nearly 40 years, will stay on during the transition into the summer.
A fixture of the Summit Lodge over the years has been the dogs — Bauer’s two Saint Bernards.
O’Dwyer said by the time he’s up here on a full-time basis next winter his plan is to carry on the Summit Lodge tradition with two Saint Bernards of his own.
Emmett and Laura O’Dwyer of Fort Lauderdale purchased the 45-room Summit Lodge on Killington Road earlier this month from Bill Bauer.
“We’ve been looking for about two years now, upstate New York, New Hampshire (and) Vermont for somewhere to relocate,” O’Dwyer said.
He said they were looking “for a nice environment” where they could raise Orlaith, their 2-year-old daughter.
“Killington, Vermont is a great place to raise a child and grow up and a great place for us to be as well,” he said.
O’Dwyer, a native of Ireland, is no stranger to the hospitality industry.
“I’ve run and owned hotels and restaurants and also run and owned a project management company,” he said.
O’Dwyer’s experience includes both owning and running hotels primarily in London but also Ireland.
The Summit Lodge was one of the first hotels built after the Killington Ski Area opened in 1958.
The 16,305-square-foot building sits on 8.36 acres and includes dining and banquet rooms with seating for 180, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pool and parking for 60 cars.
Ray Ault, a commercial Realtor who brokered the sale, said the Summit Lodge has a profitable track record, which is the exception.
According to the prospectus, the property has grossed between $850,000 and $1.1 million a year for the last 10 years.
The local market for hotels and restaurants remains soft, however.
“Overall, the Rutland-Killington market has not been good to hospitality businesses in terms of resales,” said Ault, who owns Ault Commercial Realty. “They’ve been great buys — a low sale price is a great opportunity for buyers — but they are also more cautious when they buy.”
The weak market is evidenced by several properties along Route 4 leading to Killington that remain vacant while others have changed hands at foreclosure auctions, Ault said.
“The Summit is one of the few that is healthy and sells on the basis of both the value of the hard assets and the cash flow value of the business,” he said.
Ault added that the hospitality industry is not favored by many lenders, especially when it comes to a closed restaurant.
O’Dwyer said one of the first items on his to-do list is a technology upgrade, with VTel putting in fiber optic lines which will improve the hotel’s Internet and WiFi connections. Efficiency Vermont has also been involved, helping with making the property more energy efficient.
O’Dwyer also said there will be some routine cosmetic improvements.
Most of the hotel staff will be staying on, including Bill Miller, who was promoted to general manager.
“A lot of the team that’s here has been here such a long time they know the routine,” O’Dwyer said.
He said both the Vermont Economic Development Authority and VSECU helped with financing.
Bauer, who owned the hotel for nearly 40 years, will stay on during the transition into the summer.
A fixture of the Summit Lodge over the years has been the dogs — Bauer’s two Saint Bernards.
O’Dwyer said by the time he’s up here on a full-time basis next winter his plan is to carry on the Summit Lodge tradition with two Saint Bernards of his own.
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