The Marriott hotel that's breaking the rules

The opening of big multinational chain hotels in the Caribbean can attract criticism, but the launch of a new Marriott hotel in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince in March could not have received a warmer welcome.

Marriott itself has broken some of its own rules in Haiti. Visitors here find a different kind of hotel that has pulled out all the stops to become an ethical, sustainable model geared to rebuilding Haiti’s battered economy.

Plans began four years ago when Marriott International reached out to the Clinton Foundation to propose a new hotel to help Haiti rebuild its tourism industry after the devastating 2010 earthquake. Marriott’s interest in investing in Haiti was inspired in large part by the thousands of Haitian associates who, after the earthquake, urged the company to “do what it does best” and open a hotel to spur economic activity through travel and bring hope back to Haiti. Digicel Telecommunications Group agreed to invest $45 million to build the 175-room, five-suite hotel.

In addition to creating 200 jobs for Haitians, the new hotel incorporates Haitian art and artisan products into its design and integrates green technologies such as solar power to reduce the hotel’s environmental footprint.

The Clinton Foundation also worked closely with Marriott and Digicel to identify and contract Haitian entrepreneurs, small businesses and agricultural cooperatives that could provide goods and services to the hotel.

The hotel is staffed by members of the Haitian diaspora who were working in Marriotts all over the world as well as local people from some of the country’s most disadvantaged communities.

Global brand’s new twist

I visit in April to find that behind the glossy Marriott exterior lies an unusual take on the global brand.

You won’t find a Starbucks here but a Reba coffee shop. “Reba is Haiti’s national coffee, and a socially responsible business that is investing in agricultural and financial training for small and independent farmers,” says marketing manager Stephanie Gibson, originally from the US.

“The hotel is also the first in Haiti to source produce from a Kenscoff-based co-op of 5,500 farmers.”

She shows me the rooms, each unmistakably Marriott but with a twist - featuring locally sourced art and Fairtrade toiletries.

“There are more than 200 original artworks here,” says general manager Peter Antinoph. “Metalworks, papier mache masks and voodoo flags, which reflect the vibrant art culture of Haiti.

“The Marriott Port-au-Prince is unique in so many ways. We focus on sustainable actions that will lift people from poverty, drive respect and create jobs for the hotel and, through local procurement, the community at large as well.

“Each action that we have taken to move closer to our goal has been uncomplicated and simple. We simply follow the Marriott ethic of taking care of our staff and our community. We have not reinvented the wheel.”

Human resources director Edwige Solages, herself a returning Haitian from Manhattan, tells me that she went into Haiti’s poorest areas to recruit people to work in the hotel in all areas of hospitality.

“Training was a thorough operation,” she says, “Trainees did a 12-week experience in Santo Domingo, and are now empowered in their roles and have proved to be some of the company’s best workers.” The new associates include Luccardo, who was recruited to work at the hotel’s front desk from the Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs orphanage.

“Our staff are brilliant, wonderful, friendly, energetic, smiling, warm people. I cannot say enough good about them,” says Antinoph.

The Marriott Port-au-Prince should not be viewed in isolation - it’s a pioneering lynchpin within an emerging destination. The hotel is located in the city’s business district, which is also an ideal base for tourists who are beginning to rediscover Haiti’s attractions. They include the famous Citadelle in Cap Haitien (mooted as the Caribbean’s Machu Picchu, and a short internal flight away) and the seaside resort of Jacmel, with its waterfalls and beautiful beaches.