Commissioner: Transfer of role will save jobs
Lawmakers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have approved a bid by Imperial Pacific International to run the Mariana Resort & Spa on the island of Saipan. Former operator Kan Pacific recently announced that its role there would end in September after 40 years.
IPI, which operates the island’s only integrated resort, quickly stepped up to do the job, but needed permission from regulators to run a hotel with a less than five-star rating.
According to Marianas Variety, the Lottery Commission approved IPI’s request on the condition that Mariana Resort & Spa is the only hotel of less than five stars under its management. IPI’s bid to lease and manage the property is still in negotiations with the Department of Public Lands.
Lottery Commission Chairman Mark Rabauliman said, “We want to make sure that we are only specifically talking about Mariana Resort & Spa which they can maintain while they are putting together their plans for their integrated resort. We want to make sure that both parties in this case, the Lottery Commission and IPI, are on the same page.”
Rabauliman said the Lottery Commission preferred giving IPI the chance to operate Mariana Resort & Spa in order to save the jobs of the property’s employees.
