Moratorium on New Escondido Hotels Extended
The Escondido City Council extended a moratorium on construction of new hotels in the city for 45 days, but exempted four projects that were already in the planning pipeline.
The request for a moratorium came from developers of a freeway commercial complex along Interstate 15.
The developers said that they could not attract the interest of a major hotel chain in operating a “full-service” hotel if competing hotel projects were being allowed to continue development.
Council members approved the moratorium extension on Wednesday. The council has been trying to attract a major hotel to the city to provide banquet and conference room facilities, restaurants and other amenities.
Allowed to proceed despite the moratorium is a 100-room Best Western motel, the Lake Hodges Ramada Inn, Sheraton Inn and La Terraza, the project that the developers want to lure to Escondido.
Escondido hotel and motel operators supported the moratorium, arguing that additional hotel rooms in the city would further dilute the current low occupancy rate.
A hotel-motel association spokesman said the current occupancy rate is about 30%.
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