While several foreign-owned hotels may choose to import their furnishings, Kingston’s newest hotel, The R, does not fit into that mould.

The hotel opened its doors to the media and specially invited guests, stakeholders and friends on Wednesday for an exclusive model room viewing of the facility currently in construction.

Guests were taken on a tour of the building, already well on its way to completion by an October deadline, by hospitality expert Nancy McLean, ending up in a spacious model suite which was 70 per cent locally furnished.

The veteran architect and owner of the popular Red Bones Café, Evon Williams, who conceptualised the project, reminded the audience that his idea was always to do things “a little unique, a little different”.

He also noted that, while the hotel sector, “which is very important to the economy”, is open to very few Jamaicans, both in Jamaica and in the diaspora, The R (Renfrew), will provide opportunities for Jamaicans to invest in its development by purchasing rooms.

“Very few of us have any ownership stake within the hospitality industry…but on a scale on which the average person couldn’t participate. So, therefore, this extended-stay facility is hopefully going to attract not only local, but Jamaicans in the Diaspora to own part of the industry,” he stated.

He explained that the idea is that Jamaicans investors will be able to buy rooms, lease them back to the hotel’s management to operate and get a return on their investment on an AirBnB kind of basis.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/new-r-hotel-to-be-furnished-by-jamaicans_106809