BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MORE jobs cuts are to hit the Federation at the end of the 2010 tourist season when a significant portion of the staff at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel is expected to be sent packing.
Information reaching SKNVibes indicates that a list of as many as 30 employees, mostly of the Food and Beverage Department, may be served redundancy letters shortly. The number of employees alleged to be laid off accounts for as much as 33 per cent of the staff – a significant staff reduction ahead of an anticipated slow tourist period.
SKNVibes contacted Vice President of the hotel Viola Grant, who declined to comment on the issue. Hotel Manager Daren Thompson was also reluctant to make a statement on the layoffs.
“I am not going to make any comment on that.... We are not ready to confirm or deny anything at this time,” he said.
SKNVibes however was informed by reliable sources that the layoffs are expected to move ahead soon.
About a year ago, the hotel launched its unique timeshare initiative, Vacation for Life, and began offering housing services for international university students. These decisions were made at a time when hotel occupancy was on a consistent decline.
At that time former General Manager Dimitris Cosvogiannis said that although the student housing is barely profitable, it was a necessary move to keep the hotel’s staff employed.
“Student housing is the least profitable venture that I could ever go into...but it helps me to maintain employment and defer and offset some of my cost. I have an obligation to do anything in my power to keep my staff employed,” Cosvogiannis told this media house.
One year later, rumours of the impending layoffs swirl and it is unclear how much success was made in the two business ventures launched in 2009. Efforts to get an official confirmation from the hotel’s upper and middle management proved futile.
The tourism sector, particularly the hotel industry, has been struggling in recent years, as statistics for the region have show declining estimates for visitor arrivals since 2007.
Although St. Kitts has seen an increase in cruise passengers in the last two years, passenger arrivals at RLB International Airport dropped by four percent in 2009 and the number of stay over visitors has therefore reduced. This is according to a December 2009 St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority report.
Challenges to the hotel and tourism industry may persist if the economic situations in major source markets such as the United States remain the same or worsen.
Reports from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank suggest that the local situation will see an upturn in 2011, as an 18-month lag usually delays recovery in small and vulnerable states.
