The Tribune

By Neil Hartnell

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition is demanding the Government “take Grand Bahama out of the dark” after it emerged that Grand Lucayan staff have not received their due pay for the second successive week amid assertions the resort’s water supply has also been cut-off over unpaid bills.

Employees, in a message seen by Tribune Business, were warned that salary payments due on both Friday, December 12, as well as Friday, December 5, have not been paid “due to circumstances beyond our control” while acknowledging the “hardship” this will cause workers in the Christmas run-up.

“Kindly updating regarding outstanding payroll week-ending December 5 2025, and current payroll for this week-ending December 12, 2025,” the message stated. “Unfortunately, again due to circumstances beyond our control these payrolls will not be paid today. We will advise soonest as to the expected payment date. Our sincere apology for a further delay and regret the hardship and difficulty this unfortunate inconvenience has caused.”

Dr Duane Sands, the Free National Movement (FNM) chairman, confirmed to this newspaper that he had seen the notice sent to Grand Lucayan staff - which was circulating widely on social media - and was said to have been released by an employee. While the resort is closed to paying guests, amid the wait for its sale to Concord Wilshire to close, Grand Bahama-based sources said staff salaries have frequently been between three to five weeks in arrears since the deal’s May 2025 announcement with even senior hotel management unsure why this is happening.

Given that the Grand Lucayan is presently still owned by the Government’s special purpose vehicle (SPV), Lucayan Renewal Holdings, it is the Davis administration and the Bahamian taxpayer who remain responsible for paying the bills including due staff salaries. However, given that the Government was paying between $17m and $18m in annual subsidies to keep the resort open, questions are likely to asked whether it has pulled financial support until the sale closes.

Latrae Rahming, the Prime Minister’s communications director, told Tribune Business he would “follow up” on the Grand Lucayan situation when contacted for comment but - despite a reminder yesterday - no government response was received before press time last night. Meanwhile, besides the salary non-payment, the Opposition also asserted that the resort’s water supply has been cut-off due to unpaid bills owed to Grand Bahama Utility Company.

Michael Pintard, the FNM leader and Marco City MP, asserted in a statement that “water has been disconnected at the property”. However, this was corroborated by Grand Lucayan employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, who added that the water cut-off merely adds “insult to injury”. They added that some staff were placed on two-day weeks, then “sent home”, while others have not been paid for two to three weeks.

No workers have yet been officially terminated or furloughed in accordance with Bahamian employment law, and none have received severance packages. One resort employee, when contacted by Tribune Business, declined to comment but, when asked if payroll has been missed for two consecutive weeks replied: “Sounds about right.”

Grand Lucayan staff now view their prospects of receiving a Christmas bonus as “very bleak”, with managers telling them to use their vacation and lieu time. Security staff remain on-property, and Kwasi Thompson, the east Grand Bahama MP, told Tribune Business: “I have a number of constituents who continue to work there who have been vigorously complaining.

“It is absolutely incredible that the Government is treating employees of the Grand Lucayan in this manner. It is completely unacceptable. No employer should treat employees in such a manner where employees are consistently being paid late. This is, again, the second time that employees have not been paid and not paid on a consistent basis.

“What makes matters worse is it’s coming to the Christmas vacation time and usually these same employees are accustomed to their Christmas bonus. Their employer has said nothing to the employees as to what the status of their pay is. It is completely ridiculous. It is absolutely unacceptable. It is a national embarrassment for the Government to be treating employees in this manner.”

Tribune Business understands that Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and the Government are pushing to close negotiations, and complete the sale, to Concord Wilshire so that he can include the Grand Lucayan among a series of announcements concerning major Grand Bahama-based development projects early in the New Year.

However, Mr Thompson blasted: “Grand Bahama remains in the dark. We have no idea what’s going on. It’s really a national embarrassment that the Government made this announcement [the Concord Wilshire sale] months ago and they have kept the island of Grand Bahama in the dark with respect to what is happening with this hotel deal.

“The employees are caught in the middle and don’t know what the future holds for them. They are being disastrously affected at this time during the holiday season. The people deserve answers, the Government has not provided answers.

“The people of Grand Bahama deserve answers. Any employee who is called to work without pay is in a situation that severely affects them. We are calling on the Government to take Grand Bahama out of the dark, be transparent and tell the people what is going on.”

Meanwhile, Dr Sands confirmed: “The staff just got another e-mail saying ‘sorry, we’re still having problems. We know we didn’t pay you last week and are not paying you this week’. This has resulted in persons suffering severe financial hardship because they are receiving no money to pay their bills.”

He added that the water cut-off was similar to the action taken by the Grand Bahama Power Company several weeks ago over an unpaid light bill owed by the Grand Lucayan, which resulted in electricity supply being promptly restored.

“The staff have reduced days. Some persons are working three days, some two days, “ Dr Sands said. “But if you listen to this administration everything is great, everything is wonderful in Grand Bahama. What’s so horrible about the people at the Grand Lucayan that their concerns are not a priority.

“This particular line item, it’s suck it up, we don’t have any money even coming up to Christmas time, and you’re not getting paid. For all intents and purposes, the Government has abandoned those persons at the Grand Lucayan.”

Tribune Business understands that the conveyances, transferring title and ownership of the Grand Lucayan from the Government’s special purpose vehicle (SPV), Lucayan Renewal Holdings, to Concord Wilshire’s own Bahamian-domiciled entity, were completed prior to the much-touted Heads of Agreement signing in May 2025.

It is also thought that the resort’s acquisition has been structured as a so-called “take-down purchase”, meaning the $120m sales price will be paid in phases by Concord Wilshire. As the developer demolishes each new part of the existing Grand Lucayan, a new portion of the purchase price will be paid to the Government. The $120m has not been paid yet.

Tribune Business sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, had suggested the developer is hoping to take possession of the Grand Lucayan from the Government imminently. The property is presently closed to paying guests, and the handover has taken longer than anticipated due to ongoing negotiations with the Davis administration to resolve elements of the deal deemed critical to Concord Wilshire and its partners.

This newspaper understands that there has been some reluctance by the Government to grant all the tax breaks and other investment incentives that the developer is seeking. Concord Wilshire is thought to be arguing that it needs significant concessions given that it is trying to revive a stopover tourism market that sources say is “100 percent dead”, but the Government’s concern is understood to be that it would have to give the same tax breaks to other major investors such as Atlantis and Baha Mar, which have ‘most favoured nation’ clauses in their own Heads of Agreement that state they are to be treated no less favourably than other resort investors.

Mr Pintard, in a statement last night, said the Bahamian public is still no clearer on the fate of the Grand Lucayan’s sale and progress on redeveloping Grand Bahama International Airport. “Grand Lucayan employees have not been paid since December 5,” he blasted.

“Many were advised, not directly by management or the Government, but through e-mail with no clarity on when they will be paid, how they will be paid, or whether their jobs are even secure.

“Workers have now gone weeks without pay during the holiday season, left anxious, exposed and uncertain about how they will provide for their families. At the same time, water has been disconnected at the property. A major hotel in Grand Bahama is without basic utilities while staff go unpaid.”