-hotel breaks with Starwood, Le Meridien brand
A new management team takes over the operations of the Pegasus Hotel, which officially severed ties with the Starwood chain of hotels and resorts.
As a result, the hotel will no longer carry the ‘Le Meridien’ brand, owned by Starman UK Services Company, and would now be known simply as the Pegasus Hotel. An announcement posted on the Starwood website yesterday confirmed the withdrawal: “Le Méridien Pegasus Guyana will be leaving the Starwood system on November 25, 2008. Reservations for dates on or after November 25, 2008, will not be eligible for Starwood Preferred Guest membership benefits, award redemption or accrual.”
The hotel had been managed by Starman UK Services Company, a joint venture between Starwood Capital and Lehman Brothers Holdings.
But it is unclear whether the change in management has anything to do with the sale of the hotel though reports have circulated for months about a local businessman, Guyana Stockfeeds owner Robert Badal, indicating an interest in purchasing it.
A share purchase agreement for the sale of the hotel was reportedly executed some time last month, between an overseas-based company, of which Badal is the principal and Starman. Bert Plas, now former general manager, previously confirmed that discussions for the sale and upgrading of the hotel were underway but stopped short of saying there had been a deal. Shortly afterwards, Badal had indicated to Stabroek News that a group of businessmen out of Miami had signed a letter of intent with the owners of Le Meridien Pegasus for the purchase of the hotel but he had said that no deal was concluded.
Badal, who introduced the Miami businessmen to the owners of the hotel, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, explained that he had met the businessmen out of Miami who were interested in the hospitality industry and he introduced them to the owners of Le Meridien Pegasus. Two directors of the company had met the Miami businessmen for the negotiations.
Calls to Plas’ office yesterday, his last day at work at Le Meridien Pegasus, Guyana, went unanswered. This newspaper was also unable to make contact with Badal.
Government had ex-pressed its concern about the process for the sale of the hotel and particularly seemingly poor governance procedures. It also complained that no share transfer had been approved by the hotel’s board, though until now no one has definitively spoken out on the real status of the hotel.
In a statement last month, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), which represents the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) on the board, said a representative of the Starman UK Services advised that the share purchase agreement was executed between an overseas-based company which Badal headed and Starman.
NIS as a minority shareholder was unaware of the reduction in sale price and the implications for its value, NICIL said, adding that the government would continue to raise its concerns and did not consider the matter closed.
Following newspaper reports, the government had written to Starman inquiring whether the hotel had been sold. It had noted too that the hotel rules required that any share transfer be approved by the board.
During the boom in the development of hotels back in April last year, President Bharrat Jagdeo had lashed out at Le Meridien Pegasus accusing it of making a ton of money, owning a monopoly on the market while having atrocious rooms and not reinvesting in the country.
“They kill the market and they take all the money abroad,” Jagdeo had declared.
Several hotels including the Buddy’s International Hotel were being built at the time and Jagdeo had said that this would significantly aid in the development of the fledgling tourism industry.
He had said too that Guyana had a limited number of good quality rooms–with most of them largely at Le Meridien Pegasus hotel in Georgetown–and this had limited its ability to host major international events and even meetings.
