Hospitality Industry in Portsmouth, Dominica

March 5 - Originally from Holland, Hans and Lise moved to Portsmouth, Dominica and built the five-room Hotel-Bar & Grill De Champ atop the Ross Medical school hillside overlooking the city of Portsmouth and the beautiful Caribbean Sea.



During my vocational visit, the couple explains to me, "Our dream for retirement was to live in Paradise. Dominica is paradise to us, but paradise still comes with it's problems."

In the 24 hours I spent with the couple, I witnessed one employee fired, two called in sick, and the breakfast chef for the next morning called at 10pm to say she couldn't make it for whatever reason. "Employment is a big challenge. If one of our employees doesn't feel like working, they don't come in. If they work one week, they can live for three weeks on the salary earned." The couple is constantly troubleshooting the staffing issues and workload. When an employee doesn't show up, they have to fill in.

The food suppliers for the Bar & Grill were unable to deliver certain products that the couple depends on for their standard menu. When the suppliers don't get the product in, they have to go into town themselves to shop for the foods. While I was there, her food supplier didn't receive cheese and ice cream, so Lise and I ran into town to hunt down the two items. It was harder than expected. The first store didn't have either. In fact, I was surprised as to the many shelves that sat empty due to the lack of shipments to the island. Here are a few photos showing the half empty shelves, empty freezer (no icec ream), empty chip stand.


Even though running a successful business in paradise has it's problems, the couple explains, "If we didn't like it, we wouldn't be here."



With this view, I don't blame them!

Shelly Kane