— to occupy over 100 acres of land, create about 200 jobs

AN extravagant US$35 million (G$7B) Four Point Hotel and Resort will soon be erected on 100 acres of land at Timehri, close to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
This mega project is the brainchild of the Beepats Distributing Company, which, after careful analysis of Guyana’s prospects, has ventured out of its traditional area of investment and operations with this proposed project.
Guyana’s burgeoning oil and gas sector and its traditional and non-traditional industries have served as a magnet for investors, who, over the past few months, have been ‘pouring’ into this nation.

This has in no way affected the confidence of indigenous investors like the Beepats Distributing Company, which has responded well to the changing economic conditions.
The company announced that it will be entering the hotel industry with the establishment of a Marriot Four Point Sheraton Airport Hotel and Resort.
The aim, as outlined by the investors, is to utilise their 100 plus acres of land at Timehri to create and develop a unique airport hotel and resort. For this, they have partnered with Arthur Warren Consultants who have secured their Letter of Inquiry (LOI) from Marriott’s Four Point Sheraton among a few other four-star rated hotels for this project.
The resort is earmarked to have an official water amusement park with a bevy of activities such as ATV trails, bicycle trails, zip-lining, and a lazy river.
Additionally, the investors aim to create a blue water white sand lagoon on the property developed by a U.S. firm.
The airport hotel amenities will be similar to that of all four star hotels with a pool, gym, conference centre, restaurant et al, catering for business people, airline crew and staff, diplomats, and other travellers.
The vision, as said by the investors, is to fashion the hotel to cater for the potential influx of visitors while providing a vacation destination which all Guyanese, Caribbean and foreign visitors would enjoy.

GATEWAY TO THE INTERIOR
The facility is anticipated to be a hub for eco-tourism and a gateway to Guyana’s other interior locations.
Jonathan Beepat, who is set to spearhead the Beepats’ project, said: “We were very pleased and applaud the government’s efforts in being transparent to issue the RFP for Hotel Projects for all Guyanese entrepreneurial minds to have this opportunity. We decided to take advantage of the vision which our father, Dennis, had begun in the acquiring of land in the Timehri area many years ago.” While the company will be new to the hotel industry, the investors know and understand Guyana, as they have been here for generations and are accustomed to its business climate.
“We will not be reinventing the wheel, but rather utilising our resource pool of partners in their respective fields that have the experience and knowledge of establishing and managing international branded hotels, resorts, and amusement parks around the world

“We wanted to focus on providing value for our fellow citizens and thus why we decided to create a resort with the many amenities such as the lazy river, water park, blue lagoon et al so that Guyanese may have an international destination experience right in their own backyard,” Beepat said.
Although the plan is unfolding now, the idea to establish such a facility has been long in the making.
Head of the Beepats Distribution Company, Dennis Beepat, had a vision over 30 years ago when he purchased a huge tract of land in the proximity of the CJIA, that either his children or grandchildren would be the beneficiaries of a large scale project in the future.
“Today, that future has arrived with the steady growth of Guyana’s new oil industry, and the promising expansion of the tourism industry, which is projected as one of the many ripple effects,” the investors said.

This investment will form part of the US$1 billion (G$215B) which will soon be injected into Guyana’s economy in the form of world-class hotels, which will be constructed across the country to cater for the anticipated increase in visitors, who are being attracted by the nation’s burgeoning oil and gas sector and its spill-off benefits.
A business-friendly climate supplemented by the anticipated economic ascension is being credited for the attraction of major players in the hotel industry, such as Sheraton, The Element, Delta Marriott, Best Western Hotels and Resorts, the H-Tower Luxury Hotel, the Marriott Courtyard, the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, the Radisson Hotels, and the Hilton Hotels and Resorts, among others. According to a study by Oxford Economics, hotel operations and guest spending support eight million jobs across the US alone.
The same study found that a typical hotel with 100 occupied rooms per night supports 230 local jobs every year. And the nation’s hotel and lodging industry bring other important benefits to local communities.
These businesses are a cornerstone for local economic activity, providing increased tax revenue, capital investment, tourism-related development and promotion, civic leadership, charitable contributions and sponsorship.