EDITORIAL
Maintaining Good Reputations
Thursday, April 15, 2004
The ongoing saga of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman continues to intrigue as
it plods toward what should be the most impressive hotel in the country, but
has become fraught with controversy.
In the most recent twist of the tale, the Vice President and General
Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman has written to Cayman Net News with
regard to the terminology used when reporting on the project and its owner and
developer Michael Ryan.
Paramount in its sudden concern over the proper usage of terms - which
newspaper clippings show have been apparently used over and over again to no
offence since 1998 - is the desire to keep the Ritz-Carlton’s good reputation
unsullied by the growing controversy surrounding developer Michael Ryan and
his companies.
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman and its parent company, The Ritz-Carlton
Hotel Company LLC, can hardly be blamed for separating themselves from the
press reports concerning recently filed lawsuits against the developer.
Fluor Daniel Caribbean Ltd, the general contractor ousted from the project
last month, is now saying in court filings that it is owed millions of dollars
for completed work. There are also reports that The Ritz-Carlton developer
owes large sums of money to other local contractors.
In another recent development, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Mitsui
Sumitomo Insurance (London Management) Ltd were both named co-defendants along
with Humphreys (Cayman) Limited in a legal action in the United States
concerning The Ritz-Carlton project.
Topping the controversy off are allegations of cash payments made by the
Ritz-Carlton developer to the Leader of Government Business, the Hon McKeeva
Bush, and predictions from various contractors saying that the project will
not be completed by October as stated. Should it not be completed by that
time, reports indicate that The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company might then have the
opportunity to pull out of the venture.
Almost forgotten in the uncertainty and plethora of lawsuits and
allegations is the fact that one of the major entities that could be affected
by the negative publicity, has done nothing so far to limit its exposure to a
potential disaster, and that entity is the Cayman Islands itself.
So far, our Government has kept up the impression that all is well, and
that tourists can look forward to staying in the luxury of The Ritz-Carlton,
Grand Cayman when it opens in December. The problem is that everyone from
contractors, to real estate agents to local attorneys know that will not
happen.
Certainly, anyone with a stake in the Cayman Islands wants The
Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman project to be completed, preferably on time.
No one wants another Paradise Manor, the first attempt at the hotel that is
now Treasure Island Resort, that sat as an uncompleted shell on West Bay Road
for some four years from the early to mid-80’s.
No one wants the lawsuits currently being filed concerning the project by
such international heavyweight companies as Fluor Daniel.
No one wants the scandal and additional lawsuits that could occur if The
Ritz-Carlton project implodes under the weight of impropriety.
No one wants one of our own people, which developer Michael Ryan now is,
after a Cabinet grant of Caymanian Status last year, to be vilified by the
local and international press.
No one wants any of this, but there is an adage that says ‘where there is
smoke, there is fire’, and right now it is hard to even see The Ritz-Carlton,
Grand Cayman project, even as large as it is, for all the ominous smoke.
It is time for the Cayman Islands Government to take a hint from all of the
recent events and start doing what it can to protect the good ship Cayman from
sailing into the possibility of a $400 million quagmire.
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