Marriott hotel likely for Kingston area
By Miranda La Rose
Stabroek News
February 25, 2007
A five-star hotel under the franchised Marriott Hotels brand could soon be established in Kingston, George-town, in direct competition with the 250-room Buddy's International Hotel and Resort and the well-established Le Meridien Pegasus.
This newspaper understands that a consortium of private developers, which includes foreign investors, has expressed interest and has begun groundwork for the construction of a 250- to 300-room property in the Kingston area close to Le Meridien Pegasus.
The deal was apparently contingent on casino legislation being passed. Govern-ment sources have shied away from answering questions on this issue directly.
However, this newspaper was told that the investors were bidding for the Marriott Hotels and Resorts franchise which would see the Marriott managing the facility, and would include a casino.
The project in the historic Kingston area, this newspaper understands, would encompass the buildings that currently accommodate the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), the Government Food and Drug Analyst Department and the former Luckhoo Swimming Pool.
It is projected that the government would relocate the GFC to the building to be constructed at the site of the old Broadcasting House on High Street.
The Kingston project has been in the pipeline for over two years. According to reports, when the investors were in the country over two years ago they expressed interest in casino gambling to compensate for their investment.
According to its website, Marriott International is one of the world's leading hoteliers with more than 2,700 operated or franchised properties in the USA and in 66 countries.
Marriott hotels include such full-service brands as Renaissance and Marriott hotels and resorts; as well as select-service and extended-stay brands like Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Spring Hill Suites and Ramada International.
The company develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Luxury hotel chain and Marriott Grand Residence Club brands. It operates Marriott Executive Apart-ments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division and operates conference centres.
The Marriott family, including Chief Executive Officer JW Marriott, Jnr, owns about 15% of the company.
In March 2006, President Bharrat Jagdeo had told Christian leaders, who had expressed their concerns about the negative effects of casino gambling that on the basis of visitor arrivals in the country, feasibility studies and analysis on the basis of visitor arrivals in the country showed that "no hotel beyond, maybe US$2 million or US$3 million will be sustainable because the number of visitors are too low."
He had said that there was a proposal for the construction of a 14-storey hotel to be built at a cost of US$70 million. "The only way we could justify that, which is badly needed, the infrastructure, is if we [they] get casino licences," he had said. He did not mention the name of the investors making the proposal.
Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) Geoffrey Da Silva had also told television host Christopher Ram on 'Plain Talk' in February last year that the government had given a commitment to grant potential investors casino licences pending legislation.
At the time, the Buddy's International Hotel had begun construction at Providence and the debate on the legislation of casino gambling had just surfaced through this newspaper.
Buddy's owner Omprakash Shivraj had told Stabroek News that he was interested in casino gambling and that he had facilities built into the hotel to provide for casino gambling even before the enabling legislation was passed in parliament.
Jagdeo was reported as telling journalists on November 8, 2006 that he was going ahead with legislation for casino gambling in time for the CWC tournament but subsequently denied that the legislation was to facilitate casino gambling in time for CWC. Only new hotels with over 150 rooms among other conditions would qualify. At present, based on what the law contains only Buddy's International Hotel would qualify for a casino licence.
Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee told Stabroek News during the budget debate that there had been no applications for casino licences so far. He said after the debate was over he was going to look at putting together the regulations which would guide the establishment of the gaming authority.
The law to enable casino gambling allows for three casinos in each of the country's administrative regions.
On Thursday, at the opening of Buddy's, Guyana's largest multi-million dollar hotel, President Bharrat Jagdeo challenged the proprietor to maintain the hotel's standard as there would be other large hotels built in the country in the near future.