IN October 2024 when the Aiden by Best Western – Midtown Hotel was officially commissioned, it was opened as a nine-storey building with a total of 144 rooms, seven executive suites and one presidential suite, a private bar and terrace, a private gym, a rooftop bar and cigar lounge, a ground floor restaurant, and Giraffe Café.
As the hotel prepared to celebrate its second year of operation in October, the owner of Aiden and Managing Director of Arimu Investments Investments Inc., Lorenzo Alphonso recently spoke about expansion plans and the guest traffic.
Lorenzo shared that from room quality, staff etiquette, and hospitality to food and drinks quality, the hotel has been praised for its unblemished record since it opened its doors. While there is always room for improvement, Alphonso said they have received an outpour of support from the local community and its various guests.
Speaking about the first four months, the owner said there was a substantial growth recorded, with no form of regression to be seen in any area.
He revealed that the hotel has an occupancy rate of 60 per cent, with the majority of its guests being predominantly international visitors.
“Keep in mind some months are peak season. We have occupancy of 80 per cent and up, and some months we have occupancy of 40 per cent and up. So, the more initiatives the government does, as with the events and the shows and the conferences and the stuff that they keep bringing to Guyana, it’s always better for the hotel industry,” he said.
Last year, the government called for selected hotels in Guyana to offer discounted rates for local residents and the diaspora to encourage domestic travel in our country.
Answering this call, Alphonso said Aiden was one of the first hotels to “get onboard” with this initiative by launching a US$200 fixed rate for Guyanese.
This means that anyone of Guyanese heritage, ancestry or citizenship can use this fixed rate. He revealed that this has been applied mostly during specific events such as the Global Super League (GSL), and the upcoming Guyana leg of the Caribbean Premiere Leage (CPL).
“The rates for Guyanese, it has been even lower, sometimes reaching to $180 to $185, but we’ve been seeing great, great usage of Guyanese that are coming to Guyana, taking advantage of it,” he revealed.
One of the challenges highlighted by the hotel is labour. To date, the hotel has employed Guyanese who have knowledge and experience in the field of hospitality. At present it has 82 employees, with 72 per cent of them being Guyanese.
In the coming months, Aiden will have a modified conference room, a project that is currently ongoing.
The hotel’s owner added that when complete, the conference room will accommodate a total of 120 people for conferences, meetings, socials, and banquets. Previously, the conference could only comfortably accommodate 45 persons.
Alphonso said that prior to 2020, Guyana did not offer much in the area of entertainment, but he is changing that.
“We weren’t getting things to do in Guyana. We weren’t known as a destination point for people travelling to actually come to events or come to conferences. So, I think what they did for the past few years is very substantial in the growth of Guyana, and I don’t think any of us within the hotel dynamics or sector could complain,” he shared.
According to Alphonso, “everyone was running with the oil boom. Yes, this is good. It is good for the hotel, but the government has done other initiatives too to add to it.”
