The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM, Investments and Aviation Minister Chester Cooper says the British Colonial Hilton has attracted a major international brand to support the property since announcing its closure earlier this year.

His comment came yesterday, the day the Hilton made its staff redundant after deciding to cease operations.

Hilton’s director of operations Lynne Johnson told staff in a January letter that officials could not foresee steps to avoid closure, a move that impacted more than 100 employees.

Mr Cooper said based on the information he has received, the closure should only last about two months.

“There has to be some renovations to the property,” Mr Cooper said yesterday. “We are advised that the property will close for renovations. We hope that this will be a short period of time.”

“We hope that the staff will be absorbed into the other properties that’s owned by CCA (China Construction America), the same developer that owns the Hilton, so we are positive about these outcomes.

“We look forward to them coming to fruition but we anticipate that over the course of time, the developers themselves will make an announcement along these lines.

“We’ve spoken with them at the very highest levels, myself, along with the Prime Minister have spoken with the chairman and the executive of CCA, the owners of the Hilton. They are committed to The Bahamas. They are committed to the property, at Number One, Bay Street and certainly they are committed to their other developments next door.

“So, we are optimistic about the future and we look forward to the further enhancement of Bay Street. I’m not at liberty to announce the partner of CCA, that’s something they would need to disclose, but we anticipate perhaps a closure of two months based on the information that we received.”

Sandals Royal Bahamian reopened after extensive renovations last month. Sandals executives said they would engage Hilton employees who were made redundant.

Adrian Whitehead, general manager of the resort, said: “They have good grounding, so it makes sense for us to engage people that already have a certain amount of training and initiative in the industry as well.”