WHERE ONE DOOR CLOSES…: Sandals to engage axed Hilton employees

Job fair to be held on Feb 12 at Labour Dept HQ

“We would have to be crazy not to take up that opportunity”

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Some 106 employees of the British Colonial Hilton, which is set to close next week, may not be out of a job for long as Sandals is looking to hire more staff to meet its occupancy level demands.

Adrian Whitehead, general manager at Sandals Royal Bahamian, speaking at a press conference yesterday, said: “The employees of the Hilton have experience within the industry. They understand what’s going on and they obviously understand standards.

“They have good grounding, so it makes sense for us to engage people that already have a certain amount of training and initiative in the industry as well.

“We also feel that the size of that team has been reduced over time, given the occupancies that were being run, so we know they have got to be the best people, so we would have to be crazy not to take up that opportunity.”

A job fair will be held on February 12 at the Department of Labour’s headquarters.

Sandals Royal Bahamian reopened last week after undergoing $55 million in renovations.

Whitehead said: “We are expecting to run good occupancies over the next few months and we need people, and so this is a great opportunity to bring on more people.”

It was revealed two weeks ago that the British Colonial Hilton is set to close its doors indefinitely on February 15.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper, China Construction America (CCA) — owners of the British Colonial Hilton — remains in “active discussions” with potential management companies for the hotel property.

Keith Bell, labor and immigration minister, said: “What is happening at Sandals is to ensure there is not an increase in the rate of unemployment.

“I really appreciate their effort and I’m certain all of the employees at the Hilton will be hired.”