Column: MP Wade On Fairmont Southampton
[Opinion column written by PLP MP Jason Wade]
On Thursday, we finally received the news that we have all been waiting on…the Fairmont Southampton project will get underway within the next quarter. This statement from the Gencom/WestEnd Properties Group is music to many ears. As the government, we had hoped this would have happened sooner, but with the economic instability and supply chain issues facing the world, the process was delayed.
Persistence pays as we can now look toward reestablishing the Fairmont Southampton hotel as our preeminent hotel in Bermuda.
What does that mean for Mr. & Mrs. Bermuda?
This project is critical for alll of Bermuda!
The benefit to our economy will be immense. There will be hundreds of jobs for Bermudians in the construction phases, followed by the operational phase. The entire hotel will be gutted and refurbished. That means money spent on lighting, flooring, furniture, decor, among other things.
Externally, there will be landscaping and the construction of a new beach club. All of these projects will require capital injection and workers to carry them through.
Once the hotel reopens, we will need workers within all facets of the hotel operations. Yes we have been required to offer concessions to help this project to go forward. However the reality is concessions are the norm for projects of this magnitude. Without these concessions there would be no project, and even with the concessions, our net revenues will far exceed what we are making from the site presently.
On a related note, many people are justifiably disappointed with the lack of flights to and from Bermuda this year. What must be understood is that airlines make their schedules based on projections and a large part of that is based on how many rooms a destination has available for visitors.
Currently we have minimal rooms, as our biggest hotel is out of commission. Once this hotel becomes operational again, it is a guarantee that our flight options will increase. The Fairmont Southampton reopening will provide an immediate boost in many ways.
The PLP government is extremely pleased with our current position, and we urge you to join us and support this initiative.
- MP Jason Wade, Constituency 30 – Southampton East Central
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Well if you hadn’t realized it yet the downturn in Beds on the island is directly a result of the PLP mishandling the Tourism economy since 1998.
Is it a guarantee that flight operations will increase, or is there capacity available on existing flights?
“the downturn in Beds on the island is directly a result of the PLP mishandling the Tourism economy since 1998″
Actually, the downturn in ordinary tourism goes back to the 1980s. We priced ourselves out of the ordinary tourism market long before the 1998 election.
The PLP wasn’t in charge when the downturn started. The UBP was and look what happened to that wash up racist party. It was so racist that everyone departed from the UBP in 48 hours and joined the OBA.
The economic impact will be far less than Mr. Wade believes. 1) There is a shortage of Bermudian construction workers so most will have to be imported. 2) The money for all the improvements he lists are not purchased here but imported. The money is spent overseas 3) The Government has waived duty and taxes on all the construction costs so no benefit there. 4) Taxpayers are liable for an unknown amount, but large enough for an experienced financial person, the then Minister of Finance, to resign. The current Minister of Finance is way out of his depth.
If and when the hotel opens, most of the list above will still apply.
By the way, when will that taxpayer funded folly of a money pit called Bermudiana Beach open?
HOTEL BEDS
Go on the web .
look up for Bermudiana hotel room rates.
You will find those pirate rates up to the point of insanity.