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Incompetence!
'Butch' blames UDC for problems at Whitehouse
Observer Reporter
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Whitehouse, Westmoreland - The "incompetence" of those overseeing the construction of the Sandals Whitehouse hotel has forced the property to absorb more than US$700 million in operational losses, and has impacted negatively on the entire Sandals chain, chairman of the Sandals Group Gordon 'Butch' Stewart said Friday.
The state-run Urban Development Corporation is overseeing the project, which it jointly owns along with Stewart's Gorstew Company Ltd, and the National Investment Bank of Jamaica. The project has been plagued by delays and is already about US$45 million over budget, moving from US$60 million to a projected final cost that falls somewhere between US$100 million and US$105 million.
The hotel officially opened on February 10, about a year later than planned. But with construction still in progress in some sections of the resort, guests were either given substantial discounts or asked not to pay.
Catering to that initial batch of visitors cost the hotel US$700 million, and the property has had to absorb about a third of that amount since then, Stewart told journalists during a press briefing at the resort.
He said that bookings for the Whitehouse property have since fallen by 90 per cent, and had also slumped throughout the entire chain.
"It has had the effect of slowing the entire Sandals system down, in terms of bookings," the hotel mogul said, adding that he would rather lose a lot more money than to ever let his guests believe that he is cheating them.
Stewart said the losses, so far, include "the money that was spent for advertising and promotions - not to mention the brand name, which is by far the largest damage of all."
On Friday, Stewart was harshly critical of the pace at which the UDC is proceeding.
"From week to week we get promises," he said.
He also expressed concern about delays in clearing a US$500,000 shipment of furnishings needed for the hotel.
"If by next week there is still a delay in the clearing of the shipment, I am prepared to send people to buy stuff off the shelf in Miami," the Sandals chairman said.
He has warned that if the hotel is not fully up and running soon, employees may have to work on rotating shifts.
Stewart said he plans to relaunch the property once construction is completed and the resort can deliver the level of service Sandals guests have come to expect.
Incompetence!
'Butch' blames UDC for problems at Whitehouse
Observer Reporter
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Whitehouse, Westmoreland - The "incompetence" of those overseeing the construction of the Sandals Whitehouse hotel has forced the property to absorb more than US$700 million in operational losses, and has impacted negatively on the entire Sandals chain, chairman of the Sandals Group Gordon 'Butch' Stewart said Friday.
The state-run Urban Development Corporation is overseeing the project, which it jointly owns along with Stewart's Gorstew Company Ltd, and the National Investment Bank of Jamaica. The project has been plagued by delays and is already about US$45 million over budget, moving from US$60 million to a projected final cost that falls somewhere between US$100 million and US$105 million.
The hotel officially opened on February 10, about a year later than planned. But with construction still in progress in some sections of the resort, guests were either given substantial discounts or asked not to pay.
Catering to that initial batch of visitors cost the hotel US$700 million, and the property has had to absorb about a third of that amount since then, Stewart told journalists during a press briefing at the resort.
He said that bookings for the Whitehouse property have since fallen by 90 per cent, and had also slumped throughout the entire chain.
"It has had the effect of slowing the entire Sandals system down, in terms of bookings," the hotel mogul said, adding that he would rather lose a lot more money than to ever let his guests believe that he is cheating them.
Stewart said the losses, so far, include "the money that was spent for advertising and promotions - not to mention the brand name, which is by far the largest damage of all."
On Friday, Stewart was harshly critical of the pace at which the UDC is proceeding.
"From week to week we get promises," he said.
He also expressed concern about delays in clearing a US$500,000 shipment of furnishings needed for the hotel.
"If by next week there is still a delay in the clearing of the shipment, I am prepared to send people to buy stuff off the shelf in Miami," the Sandals chairman said.
He has warned that if the hotel is not fully up and running soon, employees may have to work on rotating shifts.
Stewart said he plans to relaunch the property once construction is completed and the resort can deliver the level of service Sandals guests have come to expect.
Incompetence!
i am dumbfounded ...really.... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]
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