WITH 25 years under his belt working with Marriott International—a tenure that includes the opening of seven such facilities—General Manager of the Guyana branch of the world- renowned hotel chain, Roberto Grissi, holds the conviction that its construction is exceeding many of the international standards required.

Grissi recently for the first time publicly expressed confidence in Atlantic Hotels Inc (AHI), the hotel’s owner, Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), the contractor and MA Angeliades, the supervising consultant in delivering on a project that will meet all of the requirements in order for the international hotel chain to assume operations of the facility.
Grissi made it known that the Chinese contractor has built a number of Marriott Hotels across the world as well as brands affiliated with the Marriott chain.
According to the General Manager for the Guyana Marriott, the company from the inception has been a part of the design of the structure and had submitted the construction modules to which SCG has to maintain strict adherence.
The standards required by Marriott International are being followed by the Chinese contractor in relation to the construction of the local branch, according to Grissi.
He further stated that Marriott International’s Architectural and Construction teams would inspect the project periodically.
“We conduct evaluations…We inspect the hotel from top to bottom to ensure that in every single case the Marriott models are being followed,” said Grissi.
The general manager was also adamant that it was not just a case where persons from Marriott International would visit Guyana to conduct inspections over a two or three-day period.
He reported that on a weekly basis, the Marriott officials are in contact with the Chinese contractors reviewing the works being done, as well as rectifying any concerns that may be raised in relation to the project.
“Every Thursday we spend hours with the construction team and we go through different things…It is not just somebody flying to Guyana to spend a few days.”
He added too that the presence of a general manager for the hotel already resident in Guyana is not only to ensure that the Marriott operates the hotel properly.
Grissi said that he is integrally involved in the construction aspect of the hotel on a daily basis and “if something [is] not up to a requirement, we correct it right away.”
According to the general manager, “Our brand is very important, we take it seriously …the presence of Marriott in Guyana [is]very important to us.”
When completed, the Guyana Marriott “will be the only branded hotel and it needs to represent the quality on which our company has been built.”
He was adamant that Marriott International will not compromise on its demands “and we are never going to accept a building that does not have those qualities.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of AHI, Winston Brassington, reinforced the position by Grissi and added that in addition to the general manager’s presence in Guyana, Marriott International in fact has a management team on the ground.
According to Brassington, Marriott International will not be signing off on the project if it is not satisfied; hence the critical reason they have been involved from the beginning.
He reported that the management team has been on the ground in Guyana for a number of months now.
Brassington in seeking to emphasis the tier of officials already in Guyana pointed to the hotel’s head of engineering that is intimately integrated into understanding everything they would need to know to be able to take over and maintain the hotel.
The Marriott International’s specifications for the Guyana branch are “pretty elaborate,” according to Brassington who reminded too that “SCG essentially guarantees that the project will be built to those standards and will be accepted by Marriott.
The AHI Chairman also spoke to the fact that one of the key early steps in building a Marriott is the construction of a model room “and that has to be inspected and approved by Marriott before they can build the rest.”
The hotel’s general manager, who assumed his post locally in June last year, began his Marriott career in 1985 as banquet manager at the Washington Dulles Renaissance Hotel.
He was Director of Food & Beverage at various Marriott properties spanning 14 years and in 1999, he was promoted to director of operations and then hotel manager at the Casa Magna Marriott in Cancun.
Grissi was appointed General Manager in 2002 of the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel & Casino in Santo Domingo. Subsequent general manager roles include the JW Marriott Caracas Hotel, and Venezuela Country Manager overseeing the operations of the JW Marriott Caracas, the Marriott Venezuela Playa Grande Hotel, and the Renaissance Caracas La Castellana.
He was recently general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba, where he successfully opened the hotel in 2013.

(By Gary Eleazar)