John Hazard is calling it a day after five years at the helm of the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach resort, doing so with a heavy heart and some frustration fuelled by the continuing closure of Cayman’s borders.
“It would have been great to actually just have a phased reopening plan that doesn’t solely rely on a vaccine,” Hazard said.
Like many in Cayman’s hospitality industry, he had been clamoring for government to release the next phase of its reopening plan or, at the minimum, to share what the next steps will look like for the country.
Hazard said it has been difficult to map a way forward for the resort and its staff since little was known about Cayman’s reopening plans until 10 Dec., when government gave its first hints of when a broader reopening may happen.
Hazard said he was “very disappointed” at the state of tourism now compared to where it was headed before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had potentially a record year on the books. We had strong group business coming through and we were set to have another very successful year and then obviously Cayman was struck by COVID-19,” he said.
Hazard said he knows Cayman can rebound, but the ball has to get rolling at some point.
“It’s been so frustrating seeing other jurisdictions opening. I speak with many of my colleagues throughout the Cala [Caribbean/Latin America] region who worked for Marriott who have been open since July on a COVID-free basis, largely. So, you do see that, but Cayman is also a jurisdiction that doesn’t rely solely on tourism,” he said.
Hazard pointed to TCI as a reopening model Cayman could follow. That country, he said, has done a good job with its reopening and its cases remain low.
TCI requires a COVID test on arrival and insurance details, and then visitors are monitored. “There are face masks in place, but the beaches are open. Everything is open as normal,” Hazard added.
While he decided to take an opportunity to work in Turks and Caicos, he said his heart will still be with Cayman and its efforts to rebuild the tourism industry.
“I still have emotional ties to the island. My wife and I have a property [here] and we intend actually to keep that.
Certainly, Grand Cayman has been somewhere that we’ve come to love. My children love the schooling, they love the island, [so] never say never. I’m sure it won’t be the end of that relationship,” he said.
Hazard will be leaving the Marriott in January.
Operations at the resort will continue as normal and there will be no further staff changes, he said.
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