AS a result of the opportunities emerging from the oil and gas sector, the local private sector has reached new heights with Guyanese owning more than 80 per cent of the new hotels that are being built across the country.

President Dr Irfaan Ali made this revelation on Friday night during his address at the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber’s annual award ceremony.

“Without the oil and gas sector would we be having those more than 11 hotels under construction?” he questioned before underscoring the strides being made within the local private sector.

Some of the hotels that are expected to come on board are: Lakeside Hotel (Essequibo); Courtyard by Marriott (Timehri); Four Points Marriott (Houston); Aiden Hotel (Robb & Oronoque Streets); Pasha Global Hotel (Liliendaal); AC Hotels Marriott (Ogle); and the Sherriff Hotel (Palmyra, Berbice).

Earlier this year, President Ali had visited the site of the US$15 million Aiden Hotel where works are ongoing. The building is expected to be completed by January 2024.

President Ali was given a tour of the hotel and said he plans on visiting again sometime this month when construction is nearing completion. Construction of the facility began in March 2021.

It will feature 101 “smart rooms” and is a boutique-styled hotel under the Best Western Hotel and Resorts franchise.

A smart-hotel room is one outfitted with electronic devices and household appliances which are powered by internet connectivity.

Best Western is a hotel chain that originated in the USA, and subsequently spread around the world. The company has over 4,200 hotels worldwide, each one independently owned and run.

The hotel will be developed by Arimu Investments Inc., which is a Guyanese company with investments in mining, real estate, and business.

The directors of Arimu Investments Inc. and developers of the Aiden Hotel are Geraldo and Lorenzo Alphonso.

Geraldo, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, in March 2021, had said that Guyana will experience a demand for accommodation amid a rapidly growing economy.

“The Arimu Investment Company is actually named after a tributary of the Mighty Cuyuni River in Region Seven; it is a gold-and-diamond-rich area for a number of years. We know about the area through our gold-mining exploits, and that’s why we came up with the name,” Alphonso said, noting that the company is 100 per cent Guyanese-owned.

Arimu Investments Inc. has acquired the franchises for both “Sure Stay Plus and Aiden”, two franchised hotels, all under Best Western.

The Aiden Hotel, he said, is a trendy collection of laid-back boutique hotels that blends cool, casual charm with an eclectic neighbourly feel.

He related that the Aiden being developed by Arimu Investments Inc. would be the 12th in existence worldwide; the first to be completed in South America, the only one in the Caribbean, and Guyana’s first franchised boutique hotel.

The “Aiden Midtown Georgetown,” will be nine storeys high, with a 74,000 square-foot modern building.

Amenities, Alphonso said, will include conference rooms, an English restaurant, and bar, coffee shop, gym and sauna area, executive boardrooms and a terrace bar.

The main feature of the facility, he said, would be the rooftop bar and lounge that will be encased in glass to give patrons an exclusive dining experience.

When completed and up and running, 50 Guyanese will be hired as hotel staff.