Grand Lucayan Employee: The Mood is One of Crisis

Advertisement

GRAND BAHAMA, BAHAMAS – An email from the financial controller advising of a second missed employee payday is adding to an already untenable situation at the now-defunct, government-owned Grand Lucayan Resort.

Citing “circumstances beyond our control,” the email does not say when salaries will be paid, but apologizes for any hardships.

An employee, asking to remain anonymous, confirmed to Our News they have not been paid for the Dec. 5 and Dec. 12 pay periods.

Anonymous employee, Grand Lucayan Resort
“This would have been the second pay cycle in which pay was outstanding. The first one happened five weeks ago, and that was a two-week lead time before weekly employees were able to be paid. This is now the second cycle and the weekly employees would not have been paid for two pay week cycles. And this coming Friday will be week number three without being paid. That’s full-time.”

The hotel came into government hands under the former administration after the previous owners threatened to shut down following major damage from Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Then-Prime Minister Hubert Minnis was accused of spending public funds on the hotel in a “fire sale” type deal.

In May of this year, the Davis administration announced a buyer, but that meant the hotel officially ceased operations on Oct. 28. Revenue streams from food and beverage and room nights also ended, and workers from those areas were sent home.

Last month, remaining full-time employees were reportedly put on two-day work weeks, while contracted workers were scheduled off indefinitely and told to take any accrued time off.

Anonymous employee, Grand Lucayan Resort
“The mood is one of crisis and frustration. There is a lot of employees who are now facing eviction. Some have power off. Some are basically hustling around just to find groceries for their loved ones. The sad thing is the communication in reference to these individuals has been very, very poor, and going into the holiday season, it is a desperate time for employees at the hotel and seems to be going on deaf ears.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis said Monday it is unfortunate employees have not been paid, but promised they will be. He also gave assurances that the government is within the timelines given to rebuild and reopen the resort.

In May, the government touted the sale of the island’s largest resort to Concord Wilshire for $120 million, tying a large part of Grand Bahama’s economic recovery to the reopening planned for 2028.