Ramada Hotel In Casper Files For Bankruptcy; Parkway Plaza Owner Now Operates It
The parent company of the owner of the Parkway Plaza now operates the Ramada Plaza Riverside hotel, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week, according to local, state and federal court records.
The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based CRU Real Estate Group -- parent company of CRU Casper -- was appointed to be the receiver of the Ramada, 300 W. F St., according to the court order signed by Natrona County District Court Judge Thomas Sullins on Jan. 17.
The Ramada, a franchisee of Ramada Worldwide, is owned by the Wyoming company Western States, Inc., which has had significant financial problems.
In January 2014, major creditor AVANA Capital, LLC, in Arizona granted a mortgage to Western States, Inc., for $3,083,000, its Wyoming attorney Jodi Shea of Laramie wrote in court records.
But Western States, Inc., Shea wrote, is in default of these and other provisions in the loan: owing AVANA $58,596 for past due amounts in November and December; liens placed on the Ramada property for owing $203,099.60 in state and federal taxes; failure to pay $144,816.45 to its franchisor; and the foreclosure of a hotel property in Douglas that was a guarantor of the loan.
Because of these problems, Shea wrote, "there is a real risk of the property being wasted, lost or materially injured, such that the Plaintiffs are entitled to the appointment of a receiver until the property can be properly foreclosed upon."
AVANA notified the Ramada's manager of its complaint to appoint a receiver for the hotel on Dec. 21, and had until Jan. 10 to respond or else it would seek to foreclose the hotel property would be, Shea wrote.
The hotel didn't respond, so Sullins granted AVANA's request.
On Jan. 25, Western States, Inc., filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. Chapter 11 is the section of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that allows businesses to reorganize under court supervision while keeping creditors at bay.
It reported it has less than 49 creditors, between $1 million and $10 million in estimated assets and between $1 million and $10 million in estimated liabilities.
The owner values the real property at $3 million, and inventory -- landscaping and maintenance equipment, benches and pool furniture -- and machinery at $300,500.
However, the records are incomplete and Western States, Inc., must file more detailed reports about its creditors and inventory by Feb. 9. If the company misses that deadline, the bankruptcy court can dismiss the case, which means the company will not have the protection and creditors will be able to sue to try to recover their money.
What this means for the Ramada, the Parkway and visitors to Casper remains to be seen, especially for those seeking lodging in Casper for the events leading to the total eclipse of the sun on Aug. 21.
Western States, Inc., attorney Paul Hunter did not return a call seeking comment.
According to reviews on the Ramada Plaza's website and yelp.com, most people have said they were satisfied with their stay and the price.
But a family from London expressed its disappointment on the hotel's website on Jan. 4 with their experience:
I booked a room here ONE YEAR in advance due to the solar eclipse in August. it was a surprisingly good price given most other hotels in Casper were massively overcharging. Four months later I get an email via the agent (booking.com) to say Ramada can no longer honour the reservation and had cancelled it. Tried to contact them via email but no response. brilliant customer service, thanks a lot. needless to say at this stage there are no other hotels free in Casper (or anywhere within 100 miles). To make it worse they knew our 1 year old son will be travelling with us - nice way to treat a family.