The mystery of Braco resort

 The phone line to the property rings without an answer. Braco resort hotel in Trelawny has not reopened since Covid and remains tomblike in its shrouded silence, a property without the expected bustle as the tourism high season begins and heat seeking guests head for warmer shores.

 Sister resort El Greco Resort in Montego Bay was used as a quarantine site during covid and also has not reopened. The properties are among real estate owned by the National Investment Fund which provides pensions for Jamaicans under the National Insurance Scheme.

Braco, located 45 minutes from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, was purchased for S$23 million by the NIF in 2000.

Over a decade later, in 2015 the NIF reported spending $2.6 billion for a complete overhaul of facilities and upgrade.

The pricy renovation proceeded as the Government of Jamaica had hopes to secure a new operator for the property. They signed with Melia Group, but the marriage did not last.

The resort sector was closed under covid. and though the wider hotel sector roared back with increasing bookings, the two NIF properties remain shuttered.

El Greco Resort, located in Montego Bay five minutes away from the Sangster International Airport. Is the only all suites property in the city. The suites once came with air-conditioned bedroom/s, living areas, kitchen/kitchenette (with refrigerator) and private balcony.

Melia in Trelawny is currently described on its website as   a beachside hotel featuring two swimming pools overlooking the sea with four bars and six restaurants.

However, the offering of national and international cuisine is no longer made from the silent property, neither are the “beachside parties and weddings, Caribbean cocktails and local cuisine, such as the famous jerk chicken,” as listed on the existing website.

Standing empty, the property described as the Insurance Fund’s most valuable property was last as valued at J$12 billion in 2017.

The lease in 2015 for the 226-room hotel, upgraded to 232-room, property was leased to Mellia for ten years with the option to renew. Prior to that operator was Superclubs group which paid US$200,000 for use of the property for hotel operations,

The agreement with Melia did not last, cancelled for underperforming expected revenue targets.

The NIF has since lost its largest single source of income. Around 2021, the decision was made to put the properties owned by the NIF up for sale, given the challenges of government ownership,

However, no offers for the properties have been disclosed to date.

In May 2020, from audited financials for March 2020, revenue from investments were down although contributions had increased.

Reportedly, Braco made  pretax losses of US$5.05 million at last report in 2016, the first full year of operation under  Melia Hotels International which had been  contracted to  market and manage the hotel.

Projections for the first five years of operation  from 2016 to 2020,  had been for   gross operating profit each fiscal period ranging from US$4.87 million in year one to US$$7.3 million in year five with a level of return was based on average occupancy rates of 63-67 per cent over the period.

The NIF is yet to offload it’s properties, Caribbean Money Daily Reached out to oversight  body the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, but no update on offers received for the property were forthcoming.

  More than 74 per cent of the NIF’s  portfolio was in government securities, and another 15 per cent was in real estate, inclusive of  hotel properties. At  March 31, 2020 , total asset it stood at approximately $112.22 billion (unaudited), an increase of 4.41 per cent over March 2019.

 

Caribbean Money Daily

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