City View Hotel re-opens in Antigua

In Antigua

The owner is known as a disciplined, dedicated, driven businessman. The Minister of Tourism says that customer service is the key to the service industry, the only hope now is that the employees of the City View Hotel get it.

On Friday, December 07, the City View Hotel, in St John’s, Antigua, hosted a gala evening reception to celebrate the re-opening of the property, owned by a giant in the Antiguan business sector, George Ryan.{{more}}

About 16 years ago, Ryan did something that the Antiguan Minister of Tourism said is a rarity among locals; he invested in the hotel industry.

“Traditionally Antiguans have shied away from investing within this sector,” Tourism Minister Harold Lovell said, when he addressed the cocktail opening last Friday.

And it took vision, and some will say sheer guts to do what Ryan and his wife Joycelyn did, when they acquired City View; considering that two previous operators of the hotel had packed it in, but Antiguans will tell you that such is the nature of the Ryans.

Even though the hotel was surviving, that wasn’t enough. The Ryans revamped the entire operation, started from fresh a few months ago, and have now re-presented, with much style you may add, the City View Hotel.

Minister Lovell applauded Ryan’s vision to operate a commercial hotel, located in downtown Antigua, which caters for the business traveler.

He encouraged the staff to take pride in the facility, and reminded them of the importance of service.

“The distinguishing feature of any property is the quality of service that it offers,” Lovell said.

“There are only two types of service: good service, and bad service,” he said.

“It is clear that the Ryans understand the country’s need for continued development and expansion of our tourism product and that they have a solid commitment to Antigua and Barbuda,” Lovell added.

As for Ryan, 73, he told SEARCHLIGHT that he is confident that his investment in the 39-room, five condo City View Hotel, like all his other businesses, will bear fruit.

While to many he was in his “retirement age range’ when he launched into this venture, Ryan, said that he is as driven as he ever was and has no plans of toning down his involvement in Ryan’s Group of Companies.

All of his seven children are involved in the running of his business, but Ryan said “I am very much involved…I will only retire when they put me six feet down.”

He said that he is already seeing good returns from the hotel, noting his growing business clientele, and the very good arrangement he has with LIAT. Their pilots who overnight in Antigua usually stay at City View.

In what is a reflection of Ryan’s class, 15 representatives from media houses and travel agencies in five different Caribbean countries were invited to Antigua, courtesy City View Hotel, to witness and report on the grand re-opening, and hopefully sell what City View, and Antigua on a whole have to offer.