Arthur Lok Jack, Chairman of Almond (l) Ralph Taylor, CEO of Almond (r)
The Almond Resort saga although in the news is competing with the CLICO, REDjet, and other issues which get top billing because of the political dimension attached to them. That is if we measure based on the court of public opinion. In an earlier blog comment BU suggested that the tourism sector should be managed as a strategic asset. If there is a doubt about the criticality of Almond to the sector there is a simple equation which paints a vivid picture – Barbados Room Stock (6000) minus Almond Room Stock (600) = 5400. This translates to a 10% reduction in the national room stock net of Almond. To extrapolate, conservatively the 10% equates to 1000 direct jobs and after factoring the multiplier, the number grows to 2000 people displaced if Almond were to close its doors. The final piece of the analysis and as important is the need to factor that Almond is a forex generating enterprise which means opportunity cost has to be factored as well.
Why the country has not become emotionally connected to this issue is symptomatic of how displaced as a people we have become in ordering our priorities. Some may cite a lack of vision by today’s leaders to chart a path for the kind of country [avoided the use of the word society which as become so politicised as to lose its meaning nowadays] we want to build.
When Ralph Taylor was appointed Chairman of the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) BU joined a few who criticised the appointment. Almond was on the decline then and commonsense should have dictated that the hotel required his undivided attention. On a related point, BU also criticised the appointment of CEO of the BTA David Rice whose background is in hotel operations and not sales. What recommended him for the job appears to be the fact that he is a buddy of Ralph Taylor. [fodder for another blog].
Almond is an all-inclusive hotel which is marketed as a 4-star. However a stroll around the plant confirms it does not merit the designation. Why was the property allowed to deteriorate? Why did the company expand into St. Lucia which resulted in adding to the debt burden? To what extent should Almond shareholders hold the directors responsible for the sorry financial state of Almond? Bear in mind Almond was considered to be a jewel in the crown, a model of success for Barbados. Here is yet another example of how the failure of a private sector enterprise may have serious implications on the national landscape. Another case where the governance system has failed. Almond is a publicly traded company for chrissakes!
Almond Chairman Arthur Lok Jack has hinted that the Almond property in St. Peter (formerly Heywoods) may have to be closed at the end of the winter season [April]. What experience did Neal & Massy promise when it purchased Barbados’ only conglomerate Barbados Shipping & trading? BU recalls there was the promise of reduced food prices because Neal & Massy would leverage the fact they owned several supermarkets in T&T and Bahamas at the time.
Are these issues a manifestation of the high concentration of ownership of businesses by Trinidad in Barbados?
If the Rice appointment was due to his being a pal of Taylor, then imagine all those supply companies enjoying a similar relationship with the management. The owners should look very hard at whether or not the hotel chain was paying the best prices for its supplies, and if it wasn’t, then who were the main beneficiaries of this extravagance. Anyone who was ever unfortuante enough to be an “unfavoured” suppler to Almond would have to wait up to and in excess of 6 months to be paid. No doubt this was because “favoured” suppliers took precedence. Not as wide-ranging a scandal as CLICO, but a scandal nontheless – and this, as you so rightly pointed out, in a publicly traded company.
Almond ‘s roomstock is 800 rather than 600.
A loss of $100 million has been mentioned and if accurate this equates to a loss of over BDS $409 per occupied room per night over year. This figure simply does not make any sense.
836 rooms x 365 nights x 80 per cent occupancy.
Almond have been discounting heavily, even selling rooms through Groupon which would have given them a net rate of around US$60 per room.
That surely cannot be sustainable.
For many years Taylor has been bullshitting BS&T and had managed to bullshit Neal and Massy for a short time. Taylor your BULLSHIT is not working anymore ! The Almond Village Beach resort looks like a dump from the road. Bush and weeds have taken over the grounds not to mentions the RATS are having a field day. Almond never made any money , the books were fixed to fool those who wanted to be fooled. Taylor used to compare Almond with Hemsley’s Palace in down town Manhattan. This man had visions of grandeur and reality was that he was comparing vinegar with Champagne.
“The owners should look very hard at whether or not the hotel chain was paying the best prices for its supplies, and if it wasn’t, then who
were the main beneficiaries of this extravagance.”
Peltdown man …..you are soo correct and many would be surprised to know how many of the big shots at Almond owned some of these same businesses.
Ralph Taylor has been able to bluff too many people for too long. i hand it to him and Leroy Parris. They should both be knighted!!1
Here is the goupon Adrian referred…amazing:
http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/groupon-getaways/almond-resorts/1709770
Seems like Almond has been running border line for some time..this recent recession ..forced the true position to the surface…BTW Did Neal and Massey’s auditors not review Almond finances before and after the takeover ? Islgal….How then could Ralph Taylor be manipulating the figures ? What must be admired is the management- worker comradely that exists even today ….unaccustomed to our present industrial climate.
It maybe too big (a scam ) to BAIL! ( assume all interpretations)
Did’nt Goddards take a $15mn write off on Almond? Traditionally a well managed organisation, G, was taken for this huge sum suggesting someone was performing very fancy footwork.( mouthwork).
This requires very quick but thorough investigation to ascertain the hard factual numbers (forensically if appropriate) and who said/ wrote what to whom? The question is whether there is a business here that can be saved on a significantly long term basis. When you have professional advice that your left arm is full of gangrene it is better to cut the member off than risk the loss of your life.
It is pointless to spend serious money to bail out a business that will hemmorhage cash, like a stuck pig, for years to come and still require a bullet to the head in a few years. The most critical decision in difficult times when trying to save JOBS, is to properly follow a process that effectively prioritises which situation deserves short term help, simply because there is likely to be quite a queue for financial assistance.
All Bajans must appreciate that the global financial mess is VERY FAR from completion since hundreds of years of financial storms suggest this gargantuan mess is at least a 7-10 yr workout project. (now in year 4).
Europe is in recession with the US close behind( going into very slow growth/ recession in the next few months). China the supposedly impervious growth story is exhibiting slower growth as a result of their major export markets encountering serious headwinds ie Europe, US and Japan, and the deflation of their massive Real Estate boom that has sprung a leak.
Interesting stats on China. There are 20,000 Chinese worth more than $15mn. Of these people 27% have already attained foreign passports and bought real estate et al in Vancouver, Toronto, London, Singapore etc this according to research conducted by Savills of London. When asked, another 47% said they were seriously considering the same action! Now that life has become tough for some of these rich manufacturers they are actually flying the coop and taking up permanent residence overseas, leaving their workers and financiers in deep trouble. Those who believe Chin is the economic saviour are deluded.
“How then could Ralph Taylor be manipulating the figures ?”
You suffering from Alzheimer? Remember CLICO?
@JB | March 29, 2012 at 8:51 AM |
“Ralph Taylor has been able to bluff too many people for too long. i hand it to him and Leroy Parris. They should both be knighted!”
Two bullshit artists cut from the same bolt of cloth. Remember that shit always float to the top in a sea of crooks, con-men and politicians.
Don’t be surprised if both names turn up in the ‘Independence’ honours list as making great contributions to business in Bim. These smart guys have all the “educated and bright’ politicians in their back pockets that can be bought and sold for twelve a dozen.
@ IslanG
Simple, CLICO is a colossal Almond is a shell…..big difference when there is “play” room.
Well…well…well…the joy of technology and its ability to open the truth through questions that many should have been asking long ago. Does not take a rocket scientist to know what went very very wrong here. When you have very successful all-inclusive models that work (Jamaica – great service, good prices, local food, inclusion by locals with better rates but same welcome) you wonder what went wrong with Almond – that is apart from the usual Parris-Syndrome of high living on mauby pockets (mauby is what they should have been drinking but it is clear it was the reserves of champagne belonging to others had huge temptations)..for that is another issue of which I am not keen to get into further as it appears it is a rampant ‘disease’ on the island with seemingly no cure. ‘More’ seems to be symptoms of this disease instead of more-deration…i.e. make your model at home successful, give it your all…what the hell was St. Lucia all about??? Because Trinis buying up the Caribbean…you feel you have to keep up with them at the races??? Man! Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.
Spent a week at the first Almond hotel opened in St. Lucia – horrible horrible experience and the food? Dreadful to the say the least. On an island where produce is but a pick away, their offerings were the worst I have ever seen. Even with expensive culinary consultants from abroad whose knowledge of fusing and using ‘ours’ was a tad outta order. They were here too by the way. Having spent many nights in various fabulous all-inclusives in Jamaica, I could not believe the level of bad service at this Almond…actually no sense giving all the details, so let me say…just bad everything. Would never recommend. And this is what many hotels fail to realize..give out the best at the best price with the best food and you have not only repeats but word of mouth bookings. Once you have exhausted all your newcomers who ent coming back…you now are left with a sad brukk-up model that says “don’t bother – choose another place” filled with demoralized staff. The rot has taken over. Even at US$60 a night per person or per room…a well-run hotel can make it. Not for huge profits by shareholders, not for big end of year bonuses and hefty lifestyle by those at the top…but just for keeping the model afloat and in good order. They could have held their own. So that cheap rooms were being sold is not the cause of Almond going down, down down. That’s how I see it.
The only thing to save Almond is money but money that will be used well. Yeah right! Today in Barbados? Hmmm. So here goes.. just some food for thought perhaps….a complete re-look at the whole concept…a remodeling of the property using creative people – I call it cosmetic-surgery really…where not much money is spent but it appears that it has until the model has recuperated enough to spend more. Organic, clean healthy local food using farm to table and individual Caribbean suppliers. A staff that feel that their work is appreciated – team work is based on respect and love. Using technology to re-advertise the new concept before spending tons on travel abroad, huge sums on “professional” advertising….so many young people with great ideas out there waiting for opportunities to show what they can do at half the price of the big guys….and and and….
Maybe I am a fool. But having saved a 22-cabin ‘resort’ from total destruction in Negril, Jamaica… and I mean a drug-ridden, dilapitated (in all areas), with no and I mean no budget but huge debts and uneducated demoralized staff that were helping themselves to whatever, with a management out drinking with the old boys club, using same as a party base kind of place…and building it up into one that had no debts and could be sold within a year as a team-working concern at a nice profit to new owners who really knew how to run a hotel…I feel it can be done with a big property same way. Nothing is impossible. Dedication and direction is the key. I worked with my employees. I dug in the garden with them, painted with them, taught them to read and write, got rid of those who did not want to be motivated, kept those who showed promise, gave incentives as a group, trained Chefs re local food, used my artistry in getting the rooms looking good using local art/sculptures to captivate the eyes and take it away from what we could not afford to fix and and and….word of mouth had our resort full within three months. My first meeting with the bank who were about to foreclose was one of my convincing them I would work and prove meself. Once they saw money coming in, debts being paid, they worked with me too. Can I see the big man in Barbados painting and working in the garden…ha! And we say massa day done?? Seems to me on the colours have.
Why is it that we in Barbados always seem to think that billions have to be pumped into businesses to make it work…work is what needs to be pumped into businesses to make it work…some money yes! but work begets money. The Trinis are here to make dollars, plenty of dollars, that is in their DNA, it is their culture…and rightly so…and it was us who allowed them in so no use in pointing fingers at them…If they close a hotel or two it no big deal for them…if they want to close Almond and take the losses, let them do it….but Bajans…hard-working Bajans…those who are ready to dirty their hands in paint, mud and cement, those who are ready to speak to staff and motivate them as a team, work with them as a team…Bajans have to pull together and re-purchase or make a deal to re-purchase and make it work. Not just look on and complain as per usual. Maybe it is not as easy as that. Maybe as a woman for me it is like cleaning an old brukk-up house so that when my friends arrive they think its funky and cute…women are good at this. Making much out of very little. We have it in our DNA I guess. Hmmmm….
Here is a link which registers a 30 million impairment for Almond.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2012-03-26/ansa-mcal-earns-706m
Rosemary girl chile I wid yuh pon dis one. These so called executives feel that to manage one must do this from the board room and won’t get their hands dirty! Many have lost touch with what the needs of the paying guests.
As a related issue captured under the head ‘Governance’ it would be interesting to know if Ralph Taylor’s hotel management supplies company does/did business with Almond. If the answer is what is/was the arrangement.
Is Almond Too Big To Fail?
No way – let it go – to an operator who can operate.
Over ten years ago Butch Stewart/Sandals was sent packing.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20011017/business/business3.html
Over what? Private beaches?
Now what do we have at “Paradise Beach”? A pile of Mothballed Mansions decaying in the elements.
Does anyone really believe that the Four Seasons project would actually have a window to the sea if it had been built?
Do not repeat the same mistake this time.
Allow, no invite, Butch/Sandals to save the mess that is Almond, with his own money.
And while this sorry tale drags on, untold damage is being done to Barbados’s reputation in the key overseas markets. Thousands of tourists are spending a disappointed week or two in the Almond hotels and going home with negative stories to tell all their friends and colleagues. The worst thing that could happen is for nothing to happen and the bad publicity to continue. Yes, possibly even worse than the human cost of closure, in the long run.
@Weston
Sometime ago Adrian Loveridge spoke to the high volume of negative feedback on the TripAdvisor website. Instead of validating the feedback some preferred to engage in the trivia of the argument.
The price of p#ssy in Bridgetown has fallen gentlemen to $60.00 for top drawer selections, obviously the result of the recession. $60.00, less than the price of taking a woman to dinner … This is very good news and now is the time to take advantage … The original price of $400.00 was always out of reach of the ordinary man, but $60.00 is too good a deal to pass up… Miller I would luv to borrow that foot that you got …!
I dont know if he declared his interest but Taylor had a construction company which was a major subcontractor on St Lucia project. Company also worked on renovation Cricket Legends building in Fontabelle. A few years ago Elombe was pushing for him to be Chairman of BS&T. I agree that Taylor and Parris shd be knighted. They are our best examples that education is highly overrated in local business achievements!!
no nuff things…………brother man yuh like yuh kno nuff tings fuh tru
BU is willing to wager a bet that if a forensic audit is done at Almond the incestuous way in which business is done in Barbados will come as no surprise.
@BAFBFP
The price of p#ssy in Bridgetown has fallen gentlemen to $60.00 for top drawer selections,
*************************************
Man what you talking bout..a T20 ticket for tomorrow ?
You could tell your wife that you bought a T20 ticket wid the money Onions … See how good of a deal it is? This recession is not all bad news …
@ BAFBFP | March 29, 2012 at 1:09 PM
“Miller I would luv to borrow that foot that you got …!”
If the price of the hairy purse or modern day bald folder has been hit hard by recession you can imagine how much the fish is selling on bushy hill for. As the Mighty Sparrow sapd: “Ac” and “island girl” up in the heights posing bet ya life is something dey selling; You can get them all for nuttin the johns brek and BAF and the Miller tek over now.
The Miller is still prepared to pay top money for a good juicy cane harvest especially if the money is going into a ‘clutch’ purse made of sheepskin . If only you had taken your grandfather’s advice and in your boy days planted a piece of Cassava stick- after careful comparative measurement with your underdeveloped self- in a ground fertilized with sheep dung you would be in good grazing today and would be proud and excited as to even mistake a 6″ for a 9″. The Miller was smart from early and followed my great Uncle’s advice thereby inheriting not a bagatelle but a whole plantain farm with a long ‘foot’ path leading to the ‘bushy oil well’ in the centre of the field.
Firstly, Onions aint married( Sen.Verla:hint )next…Onions well endowed early and din have to resort to such feudal methods like planting cassava ….since everybody knows how long Onions stalks does grow and stand up long too….But wait where you BFBBPF went at 1.00 pm to gather such good news…like you went for one of them Banks Special Paks….and negotiate also with one of those sexy adverts. lady outside…a Night time Chico Pak,…dun wanna college boys did picking fares in Church Village from early…$8.50 for d body…..$1.50 for the bed ..lol
@old onion bags | March 29, 2012 at 5:20 PM |
“… wanna college boys did picking fares in Church Village from early…$8.50 for d body…..$1.50 for the bed ..lol ‘
BAF can’t deny that! Even the Lowdown admitted to it. BAF must have known Big Rose and Ginger (fattest twat ever seen) in his escapades and serendipity days.
Let us have at what Ralph Taylor had to say just a short while ago.
…$8.50 for d body…..$1.50 for the bed .. Big Rose and Ginger … Well before my time bosie. Brethren wunna feel I jokin’. When the downtown Crude was $400.00 a barrel, the Garrison Light Sweet was $60.00 a pop. Now the the downtown price drop to $60.00 a barrel man I feel dey givin’ it way at the Garrison … I gun check and find out … I am plannin’ on tekking over … ha ha ha
And BTW Miller, you must shave man … The modern day women are demanding it … Ask Islandgirl …
Too big to fail what!! Almond Beach Resorts has aleady failed, just as CLICO Life had already failed when the late David Thompson had in the first instance given ten million dollars to the same CLICO Holdings.
It is these large, inefficient and badly mismanaged enterprises, private and public sector, that are creating fundamental problems in this country.
It is the DLP and BLP that are even causing far greater fundamental problems for this country.
It is Taxation, Interest Rates, Motor Vehicle Insurance, Exchange Rates Parities with the Barbados Dollar, the Repayment of Institutional Productive Loans, A staggeringly high Cost of Use of Money Portfolio for the Country, the Importation of the Foreign Costs of Goods and Services into Barbados, Uncontrolled Unregulated Rent Costs, etc. that are causing monumental problems for this country.
PDC
Quoting The People’s Democratic Congress | March 29, 2012 at 8:29 PM |
“Too big to fail what!! Almond Beach Resorts has aleady failed, just as CLICO Life had already failed”
First time I’ve ever agreed with PDC.
The question should be. Is our National Insurance System too big to fail?
@ The People’s Democratic Congress | March 29, 2012 at 8:29 PM |
“Too big to fail what!! Almond Beach Resorts has already failed, just as CLICO Life had already failed when the late David Thompson had in the first instance given ten million dollars to the same CLICO Holdings.”
That’s what is meant by calling a Spade a Spade.
Not only has Almond ‘failed’ but many private sector businesses are on their very knees. Many statutory boards would be deemed bankrupt if not for the NIS Godfather. Even the UWI is looking for a fairy godmother to keep it from falling into a financial cave or rolling down Freeness Hill to boot.
Someday an American President will stop kowtowing to the Florida based Cubans and lift the US embargo on Cuba, it could even be Obama if he is reelected as he wouldn’t have to worry about running again. If that happens and I owned or operated a hotel in Barbados or in some other Caribbean destinations I would make sure I have a handy supply of sedatives. The Sandy Lanes or other small Boutique Hotels will survive but some of the others will wither on the vine because Cuba will be open and ready for business. Fidel is old and feeble and “young” Raoul isn’t much younger and the “Revolution’ won’t survive beyond the present leadership.
Recently I read that despite the US embargo that Cuba welcomed 2.5 million visitors in 2011 up from 340,000 in 1990, this is a country where visitors will have a great variety of experiences, from Golf , Eco tourism, Entertainment to plain old relaxing on the beach. The people have an entrepreneurial spirit and can’t wait to get started and the price will be right.
Memo to the Almond Beaches of Barbados….. The clock is ticking
@Independent
Missed your comment, thanks, got the number from the Nation newspaper, should have known better.
Increasing the number of Almond room stock from 600 to 800 for the purpose of illustration makes the point stronger.
@ Sargeant | March 29, 2012 at 11:26 PM |
Hello Sarge, great piece!
The lord giveth and the devil taketh away. Barbados’ modern tourism (and indeed Jamaica and the other East Caribbean islands) was born out of the travel embargo imposed on Cuba from the early 60’s. Before that Cuba was the No. 1 destination in the Caribbean for the rich and famous. As you pointed out, Cuba after shedding its current political skin would rise like the phoenix in a few years. Even now it is the most talked about Caribbean destination among mainland Europeans and Brits, even fervently among those of Afro-Caribbean ancestry.
It would do Barbados’s tourism officials well to watch seriously this trend. But then again we Bajans feel that we are the centre of the tourism world and calling the shots: just shout “Bubadus” and every tom dick and mary tourist would jump on a plane or a cruise ship to paradise.
One of the reasons that there are no foreign investors lining up to the Four Seasons gate is because ‘tired’ Bimshire is no longer seen as a viable pick in the new Caribbean mix. Cuba and Costa Rico would be the ones attracting any long-term investments in the tourism and aviation industries. The Four Seasons villa owners have already been advised to see their partially completed villas as tax write offs.
Sargeant
Barbados’ tourists are mainly from the UK, you know this. Cuba is not that big of a threat to us. In any event Bajan is closer to English and Cuban. At Intel the local company pitched that investing in Barbados meant that you did NOT have to teach your staff English before you taught them their jobs.
What Barbados should be concerned with is the generation of ipads that will everything else, serve as a “universal translator” (known to us Trekkies)
BAFBFP | March 29, 2012 at 7:56 PM |
And BTW Miller, you must shave man … The modern day women are demanding it … Ask Islandgirl …
“As the Mighty Sparrow sapd: “Ac” and “island girl” up in the heights posing bet ya life is something dey selling; ”
Baffy and Miller …..when wunna have to resort to picking fares please don’t include me. I am a simple country gal who like to roll in the hay every now and then. BTW I trying to locate some hairy balls to plant, I heard that it is growing up in Christ Church area. http://www.thompsonmorgan.ca/product/Gomphocarpus-Physocarpus-Hairy-Balls/Shop_Shrub_and_Tree_Seed
Islandgal lookin’ fa hairy balls ….
Hear ye Hear ye Hear ye
ISLANDGIAL246 LOOKIN’ FA HAIRY BALLS …
She don’ want na stems, JUST BALLS WITH HAIR …
Hear ye Hear ye Hear ye …
@BAFBFP
Are you in the category of Bajans who according to Miller think that “every tom dick and mary tourist would jump on a plane or a cruise ship to paradise”? The Brits are all over Spain, France and the vast majority of Brits are not conversant in the local language spoken in those countries and as a successful negotiator you should know that language is no barrier. Given your knowledge of the subject the putas will welcome you with open arms.
Cuba attracted 175,000 Brits last year, does anyone know the figures for Bim? When it comes to tourism Cuba has benefitted from the embargo as it has avoided the concretization of the place, it is like virgin territory all over again, attractive to bird watchers ( those looking for the avian type not the senoritas) scuba divers and it has some wild life that is unknown in other parts of the Caribbean.
Hasta la vista
Sargeant
Please try to stay with me now … A viable response should Cuba prove attractive to our traditional markets would be to promote the language barrier … You know capitalize on simple facts like a lost tourist seeking directions in an English speaking country or the training of staff in English to the potential investor and so on.
@ islandgal246 | March 29, 2012 at 8:40 AM |
“For many years Taylor has been bullshitting BS&T and had managed to bullshit Neal and Massy for a short time. Taylor your BULLSHIT is not working anymore ! The Almond Village Beach resort looks like a dump from the road. Bush and weeds have taken over the grounds not to mentions the RATS are having a field day. Almond never made any money , the books were fixed to fool those who wanted to be fooled. Taylor used to compare Almond with Hemsley’s Palace in down town Manhattan. This man had visions of grandeur and reality was that he was comparing vinegar with Champagne.”………………..
islandgal246,
You are so right, he used and treated Almond as his personal fiefdom. Every container imported contained whatever he wanted especially when he was building his mansion including all the big drinks and eats for the house warming. He only flew first class and that was like every other week. He paid for nothing. The place was like a pipe when it came to hiring and firing of managers. As soon as you got to find out what he was doing and ask questions, your were dismissed.
This is a mini CLICO. Well, I guess like CLICO, something had to give. Now the workers are the ones who will pay the price.
Barbadians should take note that all of the businesses here with connections to TT continue to show regression. We have allowed TT to take major ownership in our business sector whilst we party with them and buy the drinks.
Where are the Barbadian scholars, exhibitionists, attorneys, doctors, marketing specialists, financial controllers that were born, raised and educated in Barbados through our system? Where are the street-wise that finished school without O’Levels and became practitioners in their field of interest and only need an opportunity to use their intellect in hotel, manufacturing, agricultural industry? Most of these are mavericks and cannot be bought or played to lose.
Am I to believe that Parris and Taylor are so brilliant that they could continuously fool their Trinidadian bosses?
What mind boggling accounting and banking methods did these two Bajans invent to trick the trickidadian bosses?
If you dig deep enough you may be surprised at what you find. Then again you may not be able to dig deep enough.
Which one did the fountain bless … Which one did the fountain bless … All is mine … All is mine … ALL IS MINE …!
Not dis time.
What happened guys?
APD … and Gordan Brown!
@BAFBFP and Miller
Hilarious BUT very disturbing to be acquainted with such info from gents of your numerous capabilities, who I almost mistakenly assumed would have followed my lead in focusing your time on females with the monetary resources to maintain you at a very high standard of living while presenting carefully cultivated terrain for your carnal pleasure. I guess we all must live and learn?
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You might ask what connection did Ralph Taylor have with the firing of Calvin Hope from the BTA when he was a big boy there. Did Calvin refuse to play the game ? Looks like this is another CLICO affair. Investigation needed!
Let us know what salaries and fringe benefits top management was receiving at Almond. What were the management practices and controls over inventory. Something must be wrong. This hotel could not make all these whopping losses so fast. Let the truth come and let the chips fall wherever they may. Do I sense another scandal!.