Thursday
Aug072008
Sea Island Slowdown
Thanks to reader Eric for this Tony Adams story on layoffs at Sea Island, as well as the resignation of CEO Bill Jones from the Synovus board.
Columbus-based Synovus declined Tuesday to discuss Sea Island Co. and its decision to lay off between 300 to 400 employees, as well as any impact the upscale hotel and development firm's business might have on the regional bankholding company.
"Basically we're in a position, as we would always be with a customer, and we just cannot provide any additional information on a customer relationship," said Synovus spokeswoman Alison Dowe.
Sea Island Co., which dates to 1928, is headquartered on the Georgia coast near Brunswick. The firm has developed several ritzy resorts in the area, most notably The Cloister on Sea Island and The Lodge on St. Simons Island. A late-July check of the rates at The Cloister showed rooms averaging between $750 and $1,700 per night.
Monday's announcement by Sea Island Co. that it is eliminating jobs follows the July 7 resignation of Bill Jones, Sea Island Co. chairman and chief executive officer, from the Synovus board of directors.
In a recent interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, Richard Anthony, Synovus chairman and CEO, commented on Jones and his resignation from the board.
"Bill, he has been, and continues to be, a very good customer and friend," Anthony said. "He just felt like he needed to spend time on his business, and we can probably serve him better without his being an insider."
Well at least he doesn't want to spend more time with his family.
Meanwhile, this could explain why Tadd Fujikawa picked the Quality Inn over The Lodge or The Cloister.
Reader Comments (16)
...Jones III got greedy, plain and simple - now it may cost him the family business.
JD
Luckily, Linger Longer (of Reynolds Plantation fame) may be redeveloping nearby Jekyll Island; which will create real competition; which should mean BJ3 should quit acting like the Sultan of Dubai.
As for redevelopment of Jekyll Island, if that means more expensive, then another big failure is in the cards, not to mention a faithless act of economic aggression. The State of Georgia, in the form of the then vilified governor M.E. Thompson, showed tremendous foresight in 1947 by buying Jekyll Island for less than a million dollars. A little refurbishment is in order, but Reynolds Plantation? As the locals might say, "Not hardly." Unfortunately, given the troglodytes in political power in my native state, we can expect the worst.
..."Las Vegas East".
that's a bad thing.
JD
Long Time Visitor = Straight to Jail, you have no f'g idea what you are talking about.
SB
PS...I speak from 4 generations of property owners on Sea Island.
As to the number of homes for sale, it does not mean much. credit is much tighter this year than last and sales volume in every region is, how do you say, getting slower.
as for the number of homes for sale on Sea Island, it means a lot. the core demographic on Sea Island are a group that are typically insulated from economic swings, most have owned these houses outright for years and "credit" is not a factor.
something is amiss. take a look at cottage 69 listed on the website...this has been owned by one of the largest Coca-Cola heirs for decades and decades. "credit" is not forcing a sale. the hunch locally is that the family just does not like the "new" Sea Island which is targeted to the "day bed" crowd like Paris Hilton. same story for cottage 46.
JD
The credit crunch is only just beginning.
that folks are wary of buying expensive assets if they think such assets might fall in value.No neighborhood is immune.
agreed that your comment explains the lack of BUYERS...
...but it in no way explains the extraordinary and unprecedented number of SELLERS on Sea Island, especially the homes that have been owned by the same family for many decades.