…President stresses, rejects criticisms by Pegasus boss
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo maintains that Guyana needs more modern hotels and says Chairman of the Pegasus Hotel, Mr. Robert Badal, should move to greatly improve his hotel’s “crappy” services instead of coming out against the opening of a Marriott Hotel here. He told reporters Friday he was not surprised at Badal’s criticism, because a more advanced hotel would threaten the monopoly of the Pegasus.
Mr. Jagdeo said if he were in Badal’s shoes, he would try to kill every effort for other hotels in the country, since it would allow him to maintain a monopoly and charge high rates.
He said many foreigners, including Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), had complained to him about the “crappy” services at the Pegasus, and leakages in the ceiling of their rooms caused by too much condensation from the air conditioning units.
He said some had also complained about “red water” flowing through the taps in their rooms at the hotel.
Asked to comment on Badal’s objections to the Marriot hotel project in Georgetown reported in some sections of the local media, President Jagdeo said the staff of the hotel should not be blamed for any negligence, and that the amenities at the Pegasus need refurbishing.
“This is supposed to be our premiere hotel in the country,” he noted.
Referring to Badal’s comments about the government committing taxpayers’ money for the benefit of Marriott International, the President argued that if Badal was so concerned, he should have paid for constructing a wharf on land that belongs to the National Industrial & Commercial Investments (NICIL) Ltd.
Within three years, Guyana is expected to have the first Marriott Hotel in the Caribbean and Latin America, with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the United States Green Building Council.
Marriott International Inc. recently announced its readiness to open its hotel here that will boast 160 rooms, and will operate under a management agreement with Atlantic Hotel Inc., currently owned by the Government of Guyana as part of a public-private partnership between the government and private sector investors.
“I think we need not one, but three more modern hotels for this country, not captured by the narrow vision by people like Badal and the others…We have to grow this market by ensuring that you have the facilities there, so you can go out and aggressively market for people to come to Guyana; because if you market for them to come and you don’t have the facilities, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.