KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The leader of the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), Dr. Godwin Friday is calling on the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government to explain “what exactly is going on” at the state-owned Holiday Inn, which head of the state agency Invest SVG, Glen Beache, says is up for sale, six months after it opened.
Beache did not say whether it was the building, the franchise or both were up for sale when he made the announcement to nationals residing in the United States during a forum aimed at encouraging the Vincentian diaspora to invest in their homeland.
When the hotel opened in November, Finance Minister, Camillo Gonsalves, said then that the government did not intend to become a hotelier.
“We want to become developers of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and we believe that when the opportunity presents itself, we hope that we can find an appropriate private-sector marriage for this hotel sometime in the future,” Gonsalves had said.
“I’m not putting it for sale today, but I’m simply saying that we don’t want to be having cabinet meetings about staffing and equipping and running hotels,” he told the ceremony at which the contractors handed over the hotel building to the government.
In June 2022, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government signed an EC$52 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) contract for the construction of the 92-room hotel. The funds were provided by National Insurance Services (NIS) and a grant from the CARICOM Development Fund, which contributed US$10.7 million.
Speaking at the forum in Washington, Beache, a former minister of tourism, said the Argyle International Airport, which opened in 2017, has attracted hotels to the island.
He mentioned Sandals at Buccament Bay, adding that Adam Stewart of Sandals Resort International had recently announced that a Beaches Resort would be built in St. Vincent.
“We should have Marriott coming on stream,” Beache said, referring to the hotel that the government has said it would build in Mt Wynne, but on which little work has been done since the signing of a management deal in 2019.
“As many of you know, we have Holiday Inn Express, which is running at, I think it’s something like 98 per cent occupancy rate and full for carnival — well, always, right?” Beache said in Washington.
“And I should say that hotel is also for sale, for any of you who are interested, because I see a lot of money in this room…
“Now, let me say this. There are those who want to speak about ‘Why should the government be involved in a hotel business?’ Government is not really involved in a hotel business, but we need to get the room rate up,” he said.
Beache said this was the same strategy that the Barbados government has used to increase its hotel room stock.
“Government had to get involved because you have to show your potential investors that you have confidence in the product,” he added.
But speaking on his weekly radio programme, Friday spoke on the issue and said that “the government will have to explain what exactly is going on there.
“I know that driving by, usually you pass by and you’re wondering if anybody, if the place is open. There are no vehicles in the parking spaces, the windows are all blacked out and no lights in there. So you’re wondering what’s going on.
“But in any event, it’s built. It’s a facility that can provide service to a growing tourism and business sector. But … government must say why and what exactly is going to be better about it,” Friday said and spoke of the NDP’s plan to accelerate growth of the tourism sector.
