The future of the historic Greenbrier mountain resort, which has hosted presidents and royalty and once housed a secret bomb shelter for Congress, is under review after the luxury meeting destination posted a $35 million loss last year.
Railroad company CSX, which owns the resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., has hired Goldman Sachs to help it figure out what to do with the Greenbrier. All options, including selling the troubled resort or adding gambling, are on the table, said Greenbrier spokeswoman Lynn Swann.
"The Greenbrier is at a crossroads," Michael J. Ward, president, chairman and CEO of CSX, said in announcing the hiring of Goldman Sachs.
"While we have continued to make investments to keep the resort competitive, the market for luxury hospitality services is shrinking rapidly in this economy. The Greenbrier lost $35 million last year, and the resort faces even more difficult challenges in 2009. It is imperative that we respond to this situation without delay."
The Greenbrier was having problems long before the economic downturn began to pummel the luxury sector.
Last year, a number of big groups that hold annual meetings there canceled because of a labor dispute at the resort and concerns about a possible strike.
The unions and the company have reached a no-strike, no-lockout agreement through 2010.
Among the options under review is adding a casino to the resort, which hired a consultant to study gambling at the resort after voters in Greenbrier County in November approved a proposal to allow gambling at the Greenbrier.
That report will be considered as part of the review by Goldman Sachs, Swann said.
The Greenbrier is a National Historic landmark; since 1778 it has hosted guests including a number of presidents and kings.
The Greenbrier has 721 rooms, 10 lobbies, more than 40 meetings rooms and a conference center. It also has three championship golf courses, indoor and outdoor tennis courts and a 40,000-square-foot spa.
The resort includes an underground bunker that was built during the Cold War to house the U.S. Congress in case of a nuclear attack. The relocation center remained a secret until the Washington Post exposed it in the early 1990s, after which it was decommissioned.
The resort lost its five-star ranking from Mobil in 2000 and has failed to regain that top-tier status despite a recent $50 million renovation.
CSX has also announced the appointment of Michael Gordon as president and managing director of the Greenbrier. Gordon has been general manager of the resort since February 2007.
The current Greenbrier president, Andrew Fogarty, will continue to serve on the board of directors of the Greenbrier Sporting Club Development Co., CSX said.