A hotel in Desert Hot Springs is re-thinking its business plan to attract more visitors, and the keeper of the inn thinks cannabis may be the answer.
John Thatcher took over management of the Desert Hot Springs Inn last August, and he quickly realized he had to pursue a unique approach to compete with the more touristy Palm Springs on the other side of I-10.
Thatcher said, “A cannabis friendly inn is a place where you can go and smoke cannabis and use cannabis related products without the fear of somebody calling the cops or without people trying to shut you down on it.”
And no, the guests cannot smoke inside the rooms and Thatcher will not be the guest’s pot supply, but Thatcher said his inn is a place where guests do not have to hide their love for weed.
“The crowd here has been very upscale crowd, it’s upper and middle class baby-boomers and there’re no basement stoners,” Thatcher said.
The business model of the Desert Hot Springs Inn is one the city welcomes and looks forward to building upon.
The spokesperson for the city, Doria Wilms said they see cannabis as a way to attract more visitors into Desert Hot Springs.
Wilms said, “Canna-tourism here in Desert Hot Springs is certainly something that has been discussed at length with the city council and it is something their very excited to implement.”
But Desert Hot Springs is not the only city in the desert looking at recreational pot as a source of revenue. Coachella has an entire area of the city devoted to cannabis cultivation, while Palm Desert will decide in July if it will approve its first cannabis retail shop.
Thatcher said cannabis was a no-brainer for his business.
He said, “There’s no shame, there’s no stigma and people are coming here and the business is growing too we’re going to adapt to our business model and the growth to our business model.”
As for the rest of Desert Hot Springs, the city council will from a task force to get input from the community on how they will welcome cannabis.
