Marriott occupancy rate was 85% for May – chairperson

The Marriott Hotel enjoyed an 85% occupancy rate last month, mostly due to the influx of persons for Guyana’s 50th Independence anniversary celebrations, and this is projected to continue for this month.

“Approximately 85% occupancy…and looking good for June as well,” Chairperson of the Marriott Hotel board, Beverly Harper, told Stabroek News when questioned last Friday. She said that a more detailed analysis of the current functioning of the hotel will be made when the Board meets, hopefully sometime soon as it is an arduous task to get all members for monthly meetings given their busy schedules.

Stabroek News visited the Marriott during the Jubilee celebrations and there was evidence that the occupancy rate was up from its all-time high of 67% recorded last year December.

The Marriott Hotel
The Marriott Hotel

Staff of the entity also said that rental of event rooms and dining by non-guests was up.

One of the bartenders also took the opportunity to address rumours circulating on social media that the hotel did not sell the local Banks beer. “That is so ridiculous and I cannot believe that people were believing that and I think it even determined if some persons visited here…but that is a lie as you can see we have a well-stocked bar with all local drinks,” he said.

Continued State support for the hotel has been an issue of much controversy after a 2015 audit revealed that uncertainty about the financial viability of its operations and rising costs could take the final price tag for the project to at least US$98 million. The hotel was built largely with State funds.

The audit, conducted by former Auditor-General Anand Goolsarran, said that the escalating cost of the venture, as well as the fact that the former government proceeded to channel funds into construction without parliamentary approval and struck a deal that would give Hong Kong investors full ownership for just over 10% of the total cost of the project, was reason to sell the hotel. The report had urged government to either sell the hotel or retain a majority interest but pointed out that in the latter case, there is uncertainty about its financial viability.

“The Government of Guyana should proceed with haste to advertise for the sale of the hotel, bearing in mind that the Management Agreement with Marriott International is for 30 years renewable for another 10 years. The Agreement does provide for the sale of the hotel to a reputable individual or firm so that it can roll-over to the new owners,” the report had said.

“Alternatively, the Government could retain majority interest in the hotel and offer 49% of shares to the public and institutional investors, such as banks and insurance companies.

However, the risk still remains in terms of the financial viability of the operations of the hotel,” it added.

Goolsarran submitted the report to the APNU+AFC government on October 27, but there has been no word from the David Granger administration on it.