In the interview with this newspaper on Wednesday Chief Executive Officer Robert Badal unequivocally declared that the Pegasus had already declined an approach to set up a casino on the premises.
“Personally, I do not believe that casinos are either good or right for Guyana given our particular stage of development and the incidence of criminal activity including money laundering and narco-trafficking,” Badal told Stabroek Business.
“I also see a problem with sustainability. I do not see people coming here in droves just to gamble unless they are confident that our laws as they relate to casino regulations are not rigid and that they will be allowed to circumvent those laws. On the other hand I believe that any growth in the economy, especially in the mining, petroleum and in the marketing of Guyana as an eco-tourism destination will bring substantial benefits to the hotel industry. I believe that the provision of incentives to invest in these industries ought to be a national priority.”
Badal, who is also Managing Director of Guyana Stockfeeds Ltd assumed the top executive position at the Pegasus after ownership of the hotel changed hands in May 2009. He is the first Guyanese to hold the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Pegasus since its establishment in 1969.
Despite his forthright position on the issue of gaming at the Pegasus, however, Badal told Stabroek Business that the hotel welcomed competition from other facilities. “We welcome competition because it suggests that the business is growing. I am not sure that the growth in the business is as a result of tourist arrivals. In fact, since the recession that sector has actually declined. You will see, for example, that a number of the new hotels that have been built are now up for sale and others have been rented out. We have 40 years of history and during that period we have continued to be the number one hotel in Guyana up to this day. What we offer in terms of accommodation, entertainment and security is unmatched in the country. Our business has definitely not been affected by competition. That notwithstanding, we continue to make improvements. In fact, we have already improved the security systems around the hotel.”
Meanwhile, Badal told Stabroek Business that the Pegasus is currently in the throes of a US$8 million property enhancement programme that will include the refurbishing of the hotel’s tower block rooms, the creation of a new bar and gym and the erection of a new administration building. Additionally, the Pegasus plans to invest in new “eco-tourism products.”
Asked about the challenge of managing the 130-room facility Badal told Stabroek Business that whatever the nature of the enterprise “the principles of managing a major business operation remain the same. The difference with managing this particular type of business is that you need to be more customer-focused, more people-oriented. Additionally, you need to pay attention to every detail.”
Badal said that since the change in ownership of the hotel less than a year ago there had been no loss of jobs. “I can also say that the 200 members of staff at the hotel are far more motivated. Additionally, the feedback that we have received indicates that the quality of service has been enhanced. The Pegasus, Badal says, continues to provide strong support for local agriculture “in the sense that we buy a lot of our food from local farmers”.
Meanwhile, according to Badal, the Pegasus has embarked on a significantly expanded external marketing drive aimed at increasing its market share among visitors to Guyana including Guyanese in the diaspora. “Last year we attended three international trade shows following a five-year period during which the hotel was not represented at any such event. In May next year we will be attending similar shows in Trinidad and Tobago and North America.
Badal told Stabroek Business that while the management of the Pegasus was focused on raising standards, those developments would not lead to a change in the character of the hotel. “We have no wish to change that environment that visitors to Guyana and both resident and non-resident Guyanese have enjoyed so much over the years. Our aim is to continue to give service that is unmatched in the industry locally so that we can attract more guests.”
In the period ahead the Pegasus will be focusing on its traditional guest attractions which, Badal says will include quarterly Food Festivals featuring the accustomed dishes from other countries. Over the next few months the Pegasus will be hosting Indian, Mexican and Caribbean food festivals.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Food and Beverages Operations Manager Damion Griffith had disclosed that the Pegasus had been approached with requests to hold the kinds of late night entertainment events frequently held at the Princess. Griffith said those approaches had to be contemplated in the context of guests’ expectations of the Pegasus. “We tend to balance revenue against image bearing in mind that our rooms are our first priority,” he added.
Asked whether the advent of the Princess had impacted on the clientele of the Pegasus, Griffith told Stabroek Business that the facts suggested otherwise. He said that as was the case with the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup the Pegasus will accommodate all of the teams visiting Guyana for the 20/20 event. “We have only just seen the two teams off – Zimbabwe and the West Indies –that have been playing at the National Stadium and we are in the process of preparing for the ICC tournament,” Griffith said.
Griffith concedes that the Pegasus “is aware of the competition” and has been sparing no pains to further enhance its standards. “Training for our service staff remains one of our highest priorities. We have a training department and we are constantly seeking new ways of improving standards of competency at the hotel. Griffith told Stabroek Business that like so many other properties in the hotel sector the Pegasus looked to the Carnegie School of Home Economics as a source through which to recruit staff. “We have a great respect for the work that Carnegie has been doing in training people and the contribution that their trained people have been making to the sector,” Griffith said.
Griffith conceded that the retention of trained service staff was one of the major challenges confronting the hotel industry as a whole. “A number of the chefs, waiters and other service staff who have served here at the Pegasus and at other hotels are now working on cruise lines. The challenge we face in the local industry is in competing with the rest of the industry. What I have observed is that pretty much the same pool of service staff has continued to work in the loal industry over the past ten years.” Griffith says that, generally, the Pegasus prefers to recruit inexperienced staff at some levels and to do its own training. “The problem with people who have some experience is that it is sometimes difficult to persuade them to change their approach in order to meet the focus of the hotel.”
While Griffith says that the Pegasus continues to receive “a wide range of requests for a variety of functions” he adds that the hotel conference facilities continues to be “heavily booked” by both public and private sector entities. When Stabroek Business visited the hotel on Tuesday it was in the process of hosting a major high-level bilateral meeting between the Government of Guyana and neighbouring Suriname.
