Mokesh Daby believes that one of the reasons why the Grand Coastal Inn has been one of the standouts in the local hospitality industry is its sustained focus on training the “delivery team” to meet the standards patrons expect of the establishment.
“That,” he says, “is important;” though he insists that it goes further. “Once you work for the Grand Coastal hotel you are oriented to see your job and its impact on customer satisfaction as integral to the retention of your services,” Daby says.
“The logic is simple. No patrons, no hotel, no job.” It is a principle which the University of Chicago, Illinois-trained Marketing and Management graduate told Stabroek Business, the rest of the sector must also take seriously. Daby applauds the surfeit of investment in the sector that coincided with the hosting of the 2007 Cricket World Cup by the Caribbean. Still, he says that it would be reassuring to know that all of the local investors are up to the rigours of managing in the sector.
There are a host of good reasons why, more than 13 years after investing in the creation of a hotel at Plantation Le Ressouvenir, Daby remains motivated about its future. The Grand Coastal soaks up the twin benefits of, on the one hand, being sited away from a cramped and far from convivial Georgetown and on the other, being situated a matter of mere minutes away from the country’s capital.
Other circumstances favour the Grand Coastal, like its location a matter of mere minutes away from the Caribbean Community Secretariat, the recently opened Ogle International Airport and the promised investment in other business enterprises including what is likely to be the country’s largest cinema complex. Those coincidences make for potential significant increase in patronage.
While Daby says he is not indifferent to the hotel’s potential for growth he understands enough about the vicissitudes of business to be cautious as regards any hurried expansion to take advantage of what would appear to be the fast-emerging potential for growth.
Before that growth potential emerged, the Grand Coastal had already laid down a reputation that caught the attention of a market which includes visitors to Guyana. At home, the resident diplomatic community and locals looking for good food and a pleasant environment are acutely aware of what the Grand Coastal has to offer.
Besides those regular patrons, the various institutions that hold public events at the International Con-ference Centre had taken a fancy to the culinary offerings created in the hotel’s kitchen. The hotel’s catering, Daby says, is one of its key earners, while its own conference services are highly favored for events that might not require the more elaborate facilities of the International Conference Centre.
Many, perhaps most local hotels have, over time, diversified their services to include elements of night club entertainment. The Grand Coastal has stuck with the austere hotel image, a sedate environment and tasteful service. In the process it has promoted its elaborate evening dining facilities and what its patrons have told Stabroek Business is amongst the best food in the business. The hotel’s bar is quiet, intimate and conducive to conversation.
Daby returns to the theme of training. The local hospitality sector, he says, will not grow and prosper unless we take seriously the importance of creating a training institution that can provide the human resource base that meets international standards. “It’s a must,” Daby says.
He alludes to an article published in the Stabroek Business a few weeks ago about the prospects of the Carnegie School of Home Economics being transformed into just such an institution. Daby thinks highly of Carnegie. He has used the institution as a training facility for members of the hotel’s staff. He says that the task of elevating Carnegie to a modern hospitality training facility is probably “a joint public/private sector task.” Training, he says, is a matter of urgency. “There are simply not enough trained people to go around.”
Daby says that the 40-room Grand Coastal has every reason to be pleased with its Christmas patronage. Apart from the customary local patronage, the proprietor says, he was heartened by the level of visitor arrivals from abroad. “It tells us something about the reputation we have developed on the overseas market,” Daby says.
When asked what he felt was the biggest obstacle to the faster growth of the local tourism industry Daby’s response was unequivocal. “Airlift. We need to find a way of getting international airlines to work with Guyana. The departure of Delta was a huge loss.”
Separated from the menacing Atlantic by a wall that cannot keep out the fury of the ocean and a few hundred yards of flat terrain, the Grand Coastal Hotel cannot afford to be indifferent to environmental issues. After the 2005 floods, Daby says, “we had lost the hotel for a few months.” He is aware of the constant threat posed by the elements but says he refuses to be preoccupied by the menace. Since the 2005 experience the hotel has created its own crisis team equipped to respond to subsequent threats. Daby concedes that it is a limited response but says, “we can only do the best that we can.
Beyond the threat posed by the ocean, Daby says he is “saddened” by the environmental decline of Georgetown. “If we are serious about visitor arrivals we absolutely need to develop a greater sense of pride in our city.
The manner in which we manage our waste disposal is really a reflection. The environmental degradation of our city simply has to end.”
