$70M investment into Maracas Bay Hotel
By Geisha Kowlessar-Alonzo (T&T Guardian).T&T’s north coast will receive a $70 million investment as managing director of Qualitech Machining Services Deepak Lall and chief executive officer of Ramps Logistics Shaun Rampersad will be offering a modern, luxurious Maracas Bay hotel with a multitude of unique features.
The venture will not only increase the country’s room stock but will also create much-needed jobs and boost spin-off industries such as events, small business and agriculture among others.
Subject to statutory approvals construction is expected to begin in March this year and completion should conclude by the end of 2024.
But what led Lall and Rampersad-well-known in the energy circles-to venture into the hotel and tourism sphere?
Lall told the Business Guardian he first spotted the Maracas Bay Hotel for sale in 2017 but the price was out of his range at that time.
A couple of years after while on a trip to North Deck, Maracas he again enquired whether the property was still up for grabs.
And as luck would have it the listing was within his price range and he wasted no time in bringing his dream to fruition.
"Working in energy for the past 14 years this is my first tourism project. I try to look at things holistically and try to diversify my investment portfolio. In my business, Qualitech, we are heavily into the energy sector and being a service business we thought Trinidad is in need of a proper tourist destination and a hotel by the beach was therefore, ideal.
“This location is perfect because it is the most popular beach in Trinidad and again, as we are accustomed with the service sector and setting-up systems this is not too far-fetched for us,” Lall explained.
Not only managing people is important but finding the right people is also integral.
Being no stranger to Rampersad, Lall said the business partnership came naturally.
“I didn’t want to go into it by myself so I selected Shaun. We have similar thinking, similar values and similar business interests,” Lall added, noting that the 40-room property is well within their capability to manage.
Additionally, he also viewed the deal as a natural forex earner given the crunch businesses continue to face over the years.
“We thought this would be a new feeder for US revenue or foreign currency streams,” Lall further explained.
But this venture goes beyond building a world-class hotel and creating a local brand.
It is also developing the Maracas community and by extension the country’s pristine coast.
“Maracas has been the same over the years, just the upgrades with the vendors' huts but nothing really exciting. You see the development of Pigeon Point; the cabanas, the bars, the restaurants, the service where you can order food and drinks and the golf carts that will come to you and we know Maracas has a lot of opportunity for things like that,” Lall said.
For instance, he wants to create an “Oistins” environment with sumptuous dishes similar to those found in foreign countries like Barbados.
“We want to involve the community as much as possible. There are many fishermen on that side of the beach. Similar to the Oistins where there are fish fry-ups we could set a day to have that at Maracas where there can be macro food areas like those at Eddie Hart (Savannah). That’s the kind of area and ambience we want to create,” Lall explained.
Additionally, farm-to-table will also be key as obtaining fresh produce from nearby farmers will ensure guests are always served the best quality ingredients.
Apart from generating jobs and boosting linkage industries, it’s also about creating novel experiences that the modern-day traveller wants to embrace.
“The property will stand on its own but the idea is to really showcase what T&T has. We refer to Maracas as the gateway to the north coast because there’s Blanchisseuse, Paria Bay etc. Tourists can anchor themselves at the hotel for probably a week and do a number of things like hiking or even check out the chocolates in Brasso Seco.
"They can also book a tour with the fishermen to go out on the fishing vessel. They can cast a net themselves, pull the fish in; all these are experiences we want to create. These are what we want to offer to develop a holistic tourism product to showcase Trinidad’s finest,” Lall emphasised.
Other event offerings range from delivering drinks on the beach to hosting weddings.
“Our focus is also to develop the west side of Maracas which we think is under-utilised, from the river heading towards the fishing jetty,” Lall said, emphasising that quality customer service will be integral to the hotel's core vision.
While the target market will be foreigners Lall believes there’s huge potential for domestic tourism as well.
"We don’t anticipate having problems getting a booking for the weekends for instance. I am very optimistic. Companies have retreats with their employees and they go to Tobago, they go to another island so why not do that in Trinidad at Maracas?
"They can bring their families who can enjoy themselves on the beach while they go to their corporate meetings so hopefully that will take up a lot of the slack during the week,” Lall added.
Confident there will be smooth sailing in ensuring the project is brought to fruition he also praised key stakeholders for their efforts including Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell as well as the T&T Tourism Business Development Ltd (TTTBDL) which Lall said have certain guarantees which can help in obtaining a portion of the financing needed for construction.
He also detailed that Trinidad Tourism Ltd also assisted in duty-free exemptions on imported items and provided valuable insight into the local hotel industry.
"InvesTT also helped connect us with all the local stakeholders and follow up on applications, approvals etc," he added, noting the hotel was not a cash investment but was achieved via working with the bank.
"I believe in doing projects that will be successful and within my reach. One the entire country will benefit from," Lall added.
