Marriott Hotel to commence staff recruitment soon

Georgetown: Training and recruitment of staff for the Marriott International Hotel will commence soon, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh has said. He said too the Government remains committed to hiring as many Guyanese as possible. This announcement by the Minister comes on the heels of questions by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Chairman Basil Williams as to whence the workforce, for the five star Hotel will be sourced. The Finance Minister, during a press conference, maintained that the hotel, which is set to open its doors soon, will be directly responsible for providing jobs for hundreds of Guyanese and indirectly, for many more people. “They will recruit persons with some amount of experience and expertise which they will complement with their own personal training in a bid to equip those persons with the necessary skills,” Dr Singh said at the press briefing. Further, Dr Singh also said the Government will be contesting the injunction that was filed in the courts by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Desmond Trotman, which seeks to stop the Government from funding the construction of the hotel that is almost complete. The Minister, when questioned by Guyana Times at the press conference, simply responded that the Government will file their reply to the injunction when necessary. He said that “a new hotel being built is good news”; hence, there is no reason why Trotman would take the injunction to the court at such an advanced stage of construction. “Marriott is a vote of confidence in our economy,” said Dr Singh. On May 28, a long-serving executive of Marriott International, Roberto Grisi was appointed General Manager of the local Marriott Hotel. Grisi assumed his new post from June 1. He was General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba over which he has presided since its opening in 2013. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is an independently operated division of Marriott International. Atlantic Holdings Inc (AHI) and Republic Bank Limited had recently announced the completion of the financial arrangements by Republic Bank for a syndicated borrowing of US$27 million in debt financing for AHI. The two entities in a release said the money will be spent on the construction of the Marriott-operated hotel and the shell of an Entertainment Complex. Republic Bank, on behalf of its consortium of lenders, has received approval and the transaction is expected to be concluded shortly.