Bahia Principe’s Managing Director Jonay Guerra says the hotel’s year-long shutdown and redundancy plans were already in motion weeks before Hurricane Melissa struck, and that the storm did not trigger the resort’s closure but instead magnified a restructuring that was quietly underway.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Guerra disclosed that the company had initiated consultations with the Ministry of Labour and the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) between September and early October, outlining plans to temporarily close the Bahia Principe Grand, its older 2007-built property, for a full renovation cycle. The Luxury hotel — opened in 2015 — was expected to remain partially operational during that period.

Guerra said the corporate decision to close the Grand had been taken early in 2025, driven by the age of the property and the scale of upgrades required to keep it competitive.

“The Grand is old and needed serious investment and repairs so we could have an optimised product. The original plan was to do the Grand for 12 months,” he explained.

But in recent days, Bahia Principe has come under pressure from the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), which has asked the Ministry of Labour to intervene over the redundancy exercise. The ministry has since summoned both parties to a meeting.

Guerra said the planned renovation budget for Bahia Principe Grand was $15 billion, a major reinvestment that had already been approved before Melissa. Discussions with the union included the likely redundancy of staff attached to the hotel, since the closure was expected to run for a full year.

But when Melissa tore across St Ann in late October, both the Grand and the Luxury hotels suffered extensive structural damage — roofs, membranes, ceilings, fencing, furniture and glass — pushing Bahia into a far deeper hole than initially planned.

On Thursday, damage across the two properties has been assessed at $815 million, a cost that now sits on top of the original $15-billion renovation envelope.

“We didn’t escape the wrath of the hurricane. We suffered almost $800 million in damage. The hotel is tired, so we need a new product to be competitive. We want to reopen bigger, brighter and like a phoenix; new and better for Jamaica and our guests,” Guerra said.

Originally, Bahia Principe had aimed to start its renovation programme in January 2026, with the Grand reopening roughly a year later. But on Thursday Guerra made it clear that the previous expectation for the reopening has now shifted — not simply because of the physical damage to the resort, but because the surrounding environment is not yet functional.

He said that the company has begun repairing what it can, but the wider conditions in St Ann, where electricity, water supply, road access and telecommunications remain unstable, are almost making it impossible to project a definitive reopening date.

“We want to reopen as soon as possible, but we don’t know when. It’s impossible to estimate when the exterior environment is not ready. You need electricity for construction, you need water, you need transportation. Even communication is an issue right now,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Guerra stressed that until the parish’s basic utilities are restored to predictable levels, even an internal rebuild cannot move at full speed. That means the extended closure could stretch beyond the original 12-month plan.

In what the company describes as part of its duty of care, Bahia Principe sheltered around 900 staff members and their families during the storm. More than 300 employees later reported damage to their homes, prompting the resort to provide $80 million in assistance and to continue housing about 400 people on site.

Roughly 1,700 people are employed across the two properties, with about 1,000 attached to Bahia Principe Grande.

However, despite the welfare support, the hotel is proceeding with redundancies — a move Guerra says is intended to ensure staff can “benefit financially” during what will be a significantly extended period of closure.

“With a layoff you don’t get money; redundancy you get paid according to the law. So when we were discussing the closure with the union before the hurricane, the intention was to ensure staff could benefit financially. We know it will be a significantly extended period, and redundancy gives them the payment the law provides, instead of leaving them out of work with nothing,” he reasoned.

While some workers will be temporarily left without a job, Guerra emphasised that the reconstruction phase will create more than 1,000 temporary jobs, largely through local contractors. Some current staff with construction-related skills will also be absorbed into the rebuild.

“Reconstruction is external; it’s not Bahia Principe doing the work. But it will create over 1,000 Jamaican jobs and those already employed to the hotel who have the skills will be offered the opportunity to work on the renovation project,” he said.

A third hotel still in the pipeline

Despite the upheaval, Bahia Principe says its long-term vision for Jamaica remains intact. Guerra confirmed that the group still plans to build a 350-room luxury villa-style hotel in Runaway Bay, an investment of about $30 billion.

That project is expected to begin once the current reconstruction phase is stabilised, likely around 2027, given construction timelines and ongoing recovery challenges.

Guerra says the resort intends to return with a significantly upgraded product and will at that time seek to hire an additional 1,000 staff.

“We believe in the commitment of the country. So after this phase, we are expecting to start a new hotel, 350 rooms, about $30 billion, and that will create another 1,000 jobs for Jamaicans,” Guerra said.

Broken fixtures, shattered glass and damaged décor in an interior courtyard at Bahia Principe Grand.

Part of Bahia Principe’s lobby area flooded and strewn with debris in the hours after Hurricane Melissa, one of several interior spaces Guerra says requires extensive repair..

Uprooted palm trees and a collapsed perimeter fence at Bahia Principe following Hurricane Melissa, which caused widespread structural and landscape damage across the St Ann resort..

A view of Bahia Principe prior to Hurricane Melissa, before the storm’s widespread damage forced the resort into a full reconstruction programme.