Even as they prepare to reopen their doors today after having been closed for seven months, it is uncertain whether the Lake Mainstay Resort on the Essequibo Coast will be able to make a grand comeback after the financial toll inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stabroek News on Wednesday spoke with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the resort, Wilfred Jagnarine, who said that the effects of the pandemic have adversely affected business, the lives of his employees and him as well.
At the beginning of the lockdown, Jagnarine was abroad and was unable to return to Guyana until September, during which time Lake Mainstay Resort, like all other services within the hospitality industry, took the hardest of hits. All thirty-three full-time employees were laid off. However, the resort needed security which resulted in two guards being kept on. The CEO said that for the first couple of months they were able to take care of the necessary utility bills but as time progressed they were forced to pay them out of pocket. In fact, Jagnarine disclosed that he even had to go as far as borrowing money and added that he was recently forced to borrow a second sum.