- Title: Best Western closes upscale hotel in Haiti amid unrest
- Date: 24th October 2019
- Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (OCTOBER 23, 2019) (REUTERS) HOTEL EXTERIOR SIGN THAT READS: "PREMIER, BEST WESTERN" EMPLOYEE OPENING MAIN DOOR EMPLOYEES WORKING AT FRONT DESK EMPLOYEE BADGE (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) FRONT DESK MANAGER, VALLENCIA BEAUGE, SAYING: "It was with great regret that I heard about the news. I imagine it is the same for other employees. Because this job was our only source of income. If the hotel closes, unemployment will increase and more misery will be created. There are many people who depend on us. It will be a situation of misery for those people too." EMPLOYEE OPERATING COMPUTER MOUSE BEAUGE WALKING ALONG HOTEL CORRIDORS BEAUGE SHOWING EMPTY GUEST ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) KATUCIA DORLEANS, WHO WORKS IN FRONT DESK, SAYING: "It will be a long holiday for us. I thought that tourism was a sector that had a future in this country, that's why I trained in this. It's a profession I practice with passion. I'm waiting to see what will happen." EMPTY SUN LOUNGER AROUND HOTEL POOL EMPTY BAR / LIVING ROOM HOTEL CLERK NEXT TO FRONT DOOR EMPLOYEES LAUGHING CHANDELIER IN MAIN LOBBY EMPLOYEE WALKING INTO HOTEL SUN LOUNGERS (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) FRONT DESK MANAGER, VALLENCIA BEAUGE, SAYING: "The decision (to close hotel) is justified because there really is no business. If customers don't travel to the country, how will employees get paid? How is it possible to work without a wage? The arrival of customers depends on the stability of the country. If there is no political stability, customers do not come here. There is no business. It is an obligation to close its doors."
- Embargoed: 7th November 2019 02:32
- Keywords: Best Western hotel chain close the doors upscale hotel in Haiti October violent anti-government protests
- Location: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
- City: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
- Country: Haiti
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2GI0QV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Best Western, the mid-scale hotel chain that operates in more than 100 countries, will close the doors of its upscale hotel in Haiti at the end of October as the country entered a sixth week of violent anti-government protests over corruption and economic woes.
The hotel plans to close on October 31 according to Stanley Handal, one of the investors of the establishment, because they have no customers amid a crisis that has paralysed the country.
The hotel, in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petion-Ville, which opened in 2013, carried the Premier label, a brand launched by Best Western courts. It employed some 100 people directly and 500 people indirectly.
The seven-story property in Haiti included 105 rooms, a full-service restaurant, banquet space for up to 140 people and a spa.
It was one of the first hotels to open in Haiti two years after a 7.0 magnitude quake toppled buildings and homes and killed roughly 300,000 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless.
(Production: Robenson Sanon, Geraldine Downer) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None