Business competition at a ‘different level’

WITH Guyana becoming quite the hub for investment, President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Mitra Ramkumar, posited that the development of many new hotels is an essential part of catering to the business community travelling to Guyana.

The Guyana Chronicle reported that a string of well-known hotels will be coming to Guyana. While this news may be exciting to some, many persons expressed concerns that the hospitality sector may become saturated quickly. But Ramkumar said that is not the case.

“Guyana is going to become an economic powerhouse and so hotel needs will grow significantly,” he posited, adding, “Guyana will attract a lot of business travellers and a lot of business people will prefer to stay with those hotel chains they know or are familiar with.”

Last December, Guyana began oil production and this burgeoning sector has not only attracted investors in this sector, but also in all other sectors of the economy. Ramkumar highlighted that before the pandemic restricted travel, there were few hotels in Guyana to satisfy the demand necessitated by investors and other business folks who were coming to Guyana.

It is for this reason the THAG President emphasised that Guyana’s capacity and attractiveness as a travel destination will be boosted when there are more hotels available.

Moreover, a key component of any investment is to conduct a feasibility analysis as a prerequisite, which will guide business decisions. Certain that these studies have been done, Ramkumar related that the investors would have realised that the market exists for these ‘high-end’ and ‘brand name’ hotels to establish themselves in Guyana.

“I don’t believe the small hotels will suffer (because of the entrance of these hotels) because if you look at where Guyana is looking to go in terms of every other infrastructural work planned- not just oil and gas- many people will come in and people will need rooms.

“A lot of expatriates, investors and business people will come and these people usually go to brand name hotels. That is something the investors would’ve taken into account and it is a new market that will be born,” Ramkumar emphasised.

He also explained that these newer hotels will be competing at a “different level” from many of the local hotels, in terms of facilities offered, prices charged and the clientele they attract.

Billions of dollars in hotel investments have been announced recently. Popular hotels which will be coming to Guyana include the Delta Marriott, Hilton, Radisson and the Hyatt. Additionally, many locals have begun investing as well, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity.

Kerwin Bollers from Guyana’s own Hits and Jams Entertainment is one of the investors for the H-Towers Luxury Hotel, which will be housing the renowned Sheraton Hotel and the Element Hotel, both owned by the Marriott. This investment will be close to US$125 million, and construction is expected to commence at Providence, East Bank Demerara, in the first quarter of 2021.

Palm Court, also, will soon be constructing a US$54 million (G$11B) mega Palm Court International Hotel on the outskirts of Georgetown, while King’s Guyana will be constructing a new US$10 million (G$2B) King’s Hotel.