In January 2019, it appeared as if the long-running uncertainty concerning the hotel facility at the National Academy of the Performing Arts (NAPA) was coming to an end after the late Senator Franklin Khan announced the government was in advanced negotiations with Cara Suites.
In that same month, chief executive officer of Cara Suites, Shaun McGrath confirmed to Guardian Media Ltd that the company had negotiated a seven-year tax break and duty-free concessions as part of the 10-year lease agreement.
It was reported then that the company would pay some $390,000 per year to lease the NAPA Hotel, payable in quarterly tranches with the first payment is not expected until 2021.
The deal, however, was not completed and the hotel remained under the control of the Government, and was famously activated as a step-down facility for the parallel healthcare system in 2020 as part of the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It housed mainly healthcare workers who required quarantine.
The parallel healthcare system was disbanded in March and Minister of Tourism Randall Mitchell confirmed to the Business Guardian that he was awaiting the official handover of the hotel so that the outstanding business can finally be completed.
“The last time I spoke to Health they had given a deadline by which they would hand it back over and I think that deadline was either the end of March or the end of April. They were not using it per se I think they were using parts of it. From my recollection, they were using the restaurant for the preparation of meals, etc. One or two people may have been staying there. But they had indicated that they no longer needed it and they were prepared to hand it over,” he said concerning the facility’s current status.
However while the pandemic served a major chapter in the hotel’s operations for the past two years, it was not the main reason the Cara Suites did not become the operator of the facility.
The Minister explained the lease could not be completed due to NAPA’s designation and attachment to the Government.
He said: “Just before COVID a RFP (Request for Proposal) was done and there was a successful proponent for the hotel. But there were several challenges that arose that put pause to the management company taking control. The management company is Cara Suites, they were the successful proponent. Now the problems were in terms of ownership of the facility.”
These problems, Mitchell explained, had to be addressed via the National Academy for the Performing Arts Bill and the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts Bill which were debated and passed in Parliament in January.
The bill adjusted the management structures for both facilities allowing them to become statutory bodies, which Mitchell said cleared up some of the blockages for Cara Suites’ takeover.
“If you had followed the process that I just took to the Parliament to create NAPA and SAPA into statutory bodies you would have heard the challenges. The challenges are that the building was built and it was not put into statutory authority or company per se. So it was just under the Ministry. That itself provides several challenges because a Ministry cannot, a Ministry will not own the lease. The Ministry does not own property. So because the Ministry can’t own property, therefore, the Ministry would not have been able to provide a lease to the property.”
The Minister also explained some clarity was required concerning the land on which NAPA stood, as it was unclear if it was allocated to the Port-of-Spain City Corporation or was still vested with the Commissioner of State Lands.
There were also some infrastructural concerns with regard to the electrical metre for the hotel still being attached to the auditorium which also required addressing, he said. He explained Cara Suites would have still needed to make some further adjustments to the building before launching business operations.
“The proponent had to do some infrastructural upgrades, like to create staff room to create a laundry room and those things. So all the but the fact that the Ministry could not provide a lease that was to keep back. So now that the NAPA act is going to be proclaimed. The NAPA will now be in a statutory body, just like Queen’s Hall. So what we expect is that NAPA, the board of NAPA, the persons who will become the board and the statutory authority can now proceed with that hotel. So we are trying to fast-track that,” he said.
Mitchell said he was unsure if the process would allow for the new operator to get everything ready for Carnival 2023, but he was hopeful the 53 room facility could be utilised for the festival.
“I’m not sure if it is going to be ready by next Carnival. But I’m sure that the proponent, once they are still interested, they will want you know to have it ready for Carnival. So those are just the little obstacles, but the first obstacle which is getting it through Parliament is already done,” he said, explaining he now awaiting the new board at NAPA to be established so that the next part of the deal could go through.
“Of course we want to we definitely want to utilise those 53 rooms at the NAPA. But of course, we just have to move as fast as we could I don’t know what condition it is after the Ministry of Health as they will depart. Don’t know what condition it will be in. So, you know, at the formal handover, we’ll be able to take a look and see what damage if any, was done to the property,” he said.
The Minister said the Government was also looking at other options to bolster room stock given reports that hotels around the country were already fully booked for Carnival.
He said the Government was still in contact with an operator hoping to have cruise ships docked for a few days prior to the festival, as well the potential completion of the Radisson Blu to further boost stock.