ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY ARTICLE

OCTOBER 2002 ISSUE

A Warm Retreat in a Cold Climate
Open since 1998, Barrow's King Eider Inn
attracts travelers of all types.
By McKibben Jackinsky

The King Eider Inn, in Barrow, has looked to its namesake for the secrets of success. King eider ducks are easily recognized by their unmistakable appearance and their down is highly valued for the warmth it provides. Since construction was completed in April 1998, the King Eider Inn’s appearance and warmth have been its trademark, thanks to owners Dave Sweatman and Doreen Iula.

The warm glow of a fire in the lobby’s stone fireplace welcomes guests to Alaska’s northernmost city, some 340 miles above the Arctic Circle. Artwork proudly reflects the area’s people, wildlife and natural habitat. Leather and pine furniture invites weary travelers to relax in this nonsmoking atmosphere with a cup of complimentary tea or coffee and browse through the hotel’s selection of reading material or unwind with a game of chess or other board games.

Upon check-in,guests are provided with walking maps of Barrow and managers Brian and Leslie Watson, who operate the inn full-time, can offer restaurant advice and tour information.

In each room plush polar bears carefully guard a stash of white chocolate polar bear paw candies. Televisions offer viewing of 62 channels or the ability to watch any of the 300 DVDs and videos for rent. And a sauna is available to work the kinks out of muscles or the chill out of bones.

Located near the airport, the hotel boasts 19 rooms decorated with attractive pine log furniture. Standard rooms come with either a queen or two full-size beds. Nine of the Inn’s rooms are designed with fully equipped kitchenettes to accommodate extended stays. The impressive presidential suite offers a king-size bed, Jacuzzi and fireplace.

Shirts and hats as well as masks, ivory carved figurines and whale baleen crafted by local artists are available in the King Eider's gift shop.

Moving to Barrow wasn’t something former Anchorage-ites Sweatman and Iula planned to do. But after Sweatman took a construction job in Barrow, he observed that housing-or lack of it-posed a problem for the workers.

"It was always hard to find a place for them to stay," he said. "I suppose that was what got the wheels turning."

However, those wheels ground to a slow pace once it became clear that the hotel’s close proximity to the airport necessitated a number of permits. Situated on U.S. Department of Transportation land, just the permits to satisfy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requirements numbered eight. And then there was the specific order in which they had to be obtained. The Department of Governmental Coordination helped Sweatman and Iula weave their way through the process.

In January 1998, the couple began renting rooms. By April of that year, the construction was completed. The timing couldn’t have been better.

"The spring that we (officially) opened, Alaska Commercial Co. built a new store and Alaska Airlines built a new terminal, so there was a lot of extra traffic," Sweatman said. "That really helped us get off to a good start."

Then there was the challenge of running a business, something in which neither Sweatman nor Iula had experience.

"We got a lot of on-the-job training and relied on friends and people we knew who had been in the hotel business," Sweatman said. And they took accounting classes.

Although Barrow is located on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, the biggest expense of operating the King Eider Inn is that associated with water usage.

"We’re on city water and we pay by the gallon," Sweatman said. "When we’re busy, our water bill runs $2,000 to $3,000 a month."

On the other end of the scale are the costs to heat the hotel. In an area where temperatures range from 56 below to 78 above zero, heating bills average $200 to $300 a month. The reason?

"We’re super-insulated," Sweatman explained. "And we use natural gas from a field right out of town."

As unique as Barrow’s environment are the guests that visit this first class city. According to the hotel owners, there are the usual politicians and the occasional executive flying the company jet. Then there was the 70-year-old lady from Australia who had been traveling for nine months. One January, a fellow from England in a wheelchair arrived in Barrow without any hotel reservations. And there was the Englishman that passed through town on his way to Pt. Barrow, completing a walk from Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of South America.

"You don’t get the run-of-the-mill family driving through in their motorhome," Sweatman said.

After almost four years of being in business, Sweatman said keeping supplies on hand is occasionally a challenge. With 725 air miles separating Barrow from Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, and no roads linking them to the rest of the world, it isn’t easy to keep even basic items like soap on hand.

The biggest challenge, however, is remaining flexible when the Arctic’s infamous weather keeps people in town or keeps people from getting to town.

To help guests get around once they get to Barrow, the King Eider Inn has recently begun offering vehicle rentals, Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4x4 SUVs.

Are there plans to expand the hotel? "We have been kicking the idea around," Sweatman said. "The demand is probably there, but the way it is right now, it’s more like an over-sized bed and breakfast. You can call people by name. It’s exactly the right size.... The whole scheme of things just changes if we start adding on."

Which brings him to the reason for doing business in Barrow.

"It’s the people you get to meet," he said. "That’s the biggest benefit."

Sweatman and Iula’s appreciation of that benefit is reflected in the warmth and unmistakable charm of the King Eider Inn.

For more information or to make reservations:

Call 907-852-4700
Fax 907-852-2025
E-mail: eider@barrow.com
World Wide Web: http://www.kingeider.net/

Guests at the King Eider Inn receive a warm welcome
from Co-Manager Leslie Watson