PINK CHATTER, FARENHEIT and MR ADMUNDSON

PINK CHATTER, FARENHEIT and Mr ADMUNDSON

Hi Folks,

I was tipped off that the owners of the local Farenheit Gay Tourist Hotel which kicked out poor people from their accommodations, slammed me on some site called Hotel Chatter. I have re-posted the article below. The owner of the Hotel claims he also "helped fund my campaign" a few years back. Yes, for the record, Mr Admundson, the owner of the Farenheit chain, donated $250.00 to my 1999 campaign for city council. He suggests because he donated to my campaign, that I am somehow out of line to disclose his culpability in kicking around poor people. Mr Admundson then goes on to articulate that the property owner, before he took over the property (leased it from the actual owners), kicked out the poor people and then re-housed them. Moreover, it needs pointing out that he, Mr Admundson, already was a business tenant of this building.

It has also come to my attention that Mr Admundson or his representatives were in discussions regarding converting this SRO (Single room occupancy) hotel to a tourist one once the Jim Green SRA (single room accommodation) came into effect. They quickly moved to have the use changed from SRO to Tourist hotel late in 2004. They were successful. Now they are kicking me around for disclosing this.

In the same article, Mr Admundson suggests that I projected to my readers that he may have had something to do with gay steambaths not owned by him, mysteriously burning down in Vancouver. To be clear, what I said is that, many members of the gay community have suggested that "Mr Admundson does things far worse to his competitors". I then went on to factually claim that three independent bathhouses in this city not owned by Admundson have mysteriously burned down.

Now on the Farenheit website, they apologize to women and others, for their choice in making this hotel all-male. I suspect this half-hearted apology has something to do with me exposing this discriminatory practise. It also seems to me this action is contrary to the BC Human rights code and I plan on asking for clarification from the city of Vancouver on whether its appropriate that holders of city issued business licences be allowed to openly discriminate in our City.

Stay tuned.

Jamie Lee Hamilton
tricia_foxx@yahoo.com



Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:35:56 PM EST
Tags: Vancouver Hotels, Gay Hotels

[Ed. Note: A representative for the Farenheit Hotel in Vancouver emailed us to dispute the notion put forth by another blogger that "poor people" were kicked out of the building to make way for the clothing-optional, gay men only hotel. Here's his side of the story.]


FYI the hotel was converted from SRO to "Tourist Hotel" by the owner/operator a couple of years before we even considered leasing the building from her. She went through the city's legal process to do so. At that time she only had 5 SRO tenants, and she moved them to another hotel she owns with rent frozen for 5 years. Freezing the rent at that hotel (for ALL it's tenants) for 5 years was part of the deal. 4 of the tenants were delighted to move, because they felt the new facility was much better for them than was the hotel on Granville, and they all submitted letters of support.

One cranky tenant was a holdout (you can't please everyone), and he got a good deal too, and eventually a buy-out. He left the hotel BEFORE we took over and converted it to the Fahrenheit hotel.

So please, we didn't kick out ANY poor people.

Here's the link to the city's files documenting the entire process of conversion of the Ambassador Hotel from SRO hotel to Tourist Hotel.

We never respond to Jamie Lee Hamilton, the Downtown Eastside blogger, because it is pointless to talk to her. Anything we do would only make her more angry. I'm kinda sorry now I helped fund her run at a seat on the city council a few years ago... Now she seems to be set on hinting that maybe I burned down all the other gay baths in town just to eliminate the competition. Egad! I'd sue but she'd just enjoy the publicity; she's pretty much unstoppable when she gets on a tear about something.

Meanwhile, we have created more jobs for gay men, and created a new facility to be enjoyed by their community. We like to think we've done a nice job. The Hotel's guests seem very pleased, I'm gratified to hear.

But, we can't be all things to all people.