MONTEGO BAY, St James — Believing that Jamaica has the potential to take its entertainment offerings to stratospheric levels, local company Hah-R-Mony Entertainment Limited is trying to blaze a path to do just that.

In over 52 hotels in Jamaica, the Bahamas and St Lucia, Hah-R-Mony Entertainment — which for the past two years has been providing gifts for nearly 3,000 needy children on Christmas Day across western Jamaica — has been positioning itself to be the biggest entertainment company in Jamaica and possibly in the Caribbean.

Chief executive officer and corporate entertainment director Ho-Chi-Min Castillo Rolffot explains, “We are more than an entertainment company in the traditional sense. We are an employer of people. We create jobs and we make a valuable contribution to the tourism product.”

Castillo Rolffot, whose company’s contributions to the entertainment and tourism industries have been lauded by both the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, added that of the 120 full-time workers that are currently employed to Hah-R-Mony, 60 are Jamaican, “and we have a lot more coming on stream as we continue to broaden our horizon”.

“We also work with a total of 650 artistes islandwide,” he added.

“We pride ourselves as a family of professional, courteous, and dedicated employees. Our staff includes professionals in every phase of the performing arts business, all of whom are highly experienced and knowledgeable.”

Castillo Rolffot added that Jamaican tourism interests will now have to operate with the mindset that tourism is evolving every day to the point where the destination that gives the best variety “will always be ahead of the game”.

“We have to understand that today’s traveller is a lot more sophisticated than before and wants the very best that we have to offer,” he stressed.

“They know what is available by way of entertainment in Las Vegas, in Atlantic City and also in Milan. When they come here they want the same quality, in Jamaican style, of course, but they want that variety.”

And on Hah-R-Mony’s community outreach programmes, the CEO said: “We are fully committed to doing our Christmas treat every year so as to give back to the community and ensure many of our kids can truly enjoy the festive season.”

“We try every year to get more presents so as to see a more happy smiles,” he added.

“Hah-R-Mony Entertainment operates as a family of wonderful people, and it’s important to us to take our role as good corporate citizens very seriously.”

He, however, noted that to operate in “such a competitive” environment and to be “responsible for so many workers” are not without challenges, adding that “it’s always important to have a passion for your job and to love whatever it is that you do”.

Hah-R-Mony is headquartered in Montego Bay where it operates what could be described as “a kind of cottage industry where everything is basically done under one roof.”

“We have the living quarters, the training rooms, the lounge and leisure area, the dressmaking area where we build all of our costumes, and then the office area for management…all under one roof,” Castillo Rolffot revealed.

President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Omar Robinson, who has taken children from the SOS Children’s Village to one of Hah-R-Mony’s Christmas treats, said: “It is really nice to see an organisation taking this kind of time to put in such a tremendous effort. This is a beautiful thing for Montego Bay and the adjoining communities, and the organisers must really and truly be commended.”