TOBAGO’S accommodation sector is expanding with the opening of the Comfort Inn & Suites in Lower Scarborough last Thursday.
This will be the first franchised Choice Hotel in the Caribbean and the US-based hotel management company is working with T&T-based owners Towers Hospitality Group.
Comfort Inn & Suites general manager Maria Yip-John told CCN TV6 during a tour of the 74 rooms on Thursday that it wasn’t an easy three-year journey due to congestion and construction closures caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
She said she is happy that the hotel has finally opened its doors on the island.
Yip-John said that of the 74 rooms, 20 are suites and she believes the added room stock will help grow the accommodation sector.
“We have always heard cries that there is not enough space on the island and with this addition, it can also attract more air traffic. It also raises the bar for what is on offer in Tobago.”
Speaking about the cuisine, the general manager said that everything will be locally sourced and the hotel will have a close relationship with farmers and suppliers on the island.
“We have taken the opportunity to highlight Tobago’s best menu items. Also all 60 employees are local so we are very excited about this new journey and Tobago is the first Caribbean country to have a Choice Hotel franchise,” said Yip-John.
She added that Comfort Inn & Suites’ goal is to provide excellent customer service and hospitality.
In a press release last week, Towers Hospitality Group chairman Allan Richards, who masterminded the project, said: “Towers is now poised to further contribute to Tobago’s economy by adding high quality rooms which we understand that they are key to achieving the critical mass required for Tobagonians to benefit from continued public investment in the island, such as the development of new sporting and cultural facilities and the expansion of the airport.
Richards said that during construction, over 200 local workers were regularly employed.
“The hotel will create rewarding relationships with providers of food, transportation, entertainment and other tourism-related activities. Towers is extremely pleased to have reached this point, where the culmination of its pursuit of its strategic goal is on the horizon. We are confident that the mutually beneficial cooperation experienced so far will continue to be shared by all. Now is the time,” said the president.
US-based management company CUSA, LLC is a full-service hotel and property company
CUSA, LLC manages hotels ranging in size from 45 rooms to 770 rooms, full, limited and select service hotels in a variety of locations.
