Wyndham build advances, but opening hinges on Kingston demand

Work has picked up at the long-idled former Wyndham Kingston Hotel, with cranes back on site and large glass panels now being installed, but a reopening date remains uncertain as developer Kevin Hendrickson weighs whether Kingston can absorb more hotel rooms.

More than a decade after the property was acquired, the project is now close to the finish line in structural terms. Inside, most of the heavy work is already done. Bedrooms are largely complete, with ceilings, painting, and core systems in place. What’s left is the final layer — carpets, furniture, and fixtures.

“Work is being done…they’re putting in glass now, the crane is up,” Hendrickson told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview, adding that crews have also been installing drainage systems in the interior courtyard.

But, despite that progress, the final push has not been triggered.

“It’s really an assessment of whether the city needs more hotel bedrooms at this point…if there is the demand to rationalise the investment,” he said.

His hesitation comes as Kingston’s accommodation landscape changes in ways that did not exist when the redevelopment was first conceived.

Short-term rentals have expanded rapidly across the capital. Data from AirROI shows roughly 1,600 active Airbnb listings in Kingston, with average occupancy hovering around 35 to 36 per cent and higher-performing properties exceeding 60 per cent.

Hendrickson said that growth is already being felt on the ground.

“We are seeing growth in the city for Airbnb spaces, which is a positive thing for Kingston’s room stock…but not necessarily positive for hotel bedroom capacity,” he said.

The issue, he argued, is not just competition but fragmentation. Demand that might once have flowed into hotels is now spread across a wide base of smaller operators, making it harder to justify bringing a large block of rooms to market at once.

Kingston’s demand profile adds to that caution. Unlike resort areas, the city relies heavily on business travel, conferences, and government activity — segments that have been uneven in their recovery since the pandemic and more recent shocks, including hurricanes.

The former Wyndham property sits along a prominent New Kingston corridor, alongside the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites and Jamaica Pegasus hotel, both also tied to Hendrickson’s portfolio.

Together, the properties were expected to anchor a stronger urban hospitality offering, with the former Wyndham adding scale through additional rooms and expanded conference facilities.

That strategy remains intact, but the timing has shifted.

“We have to be constantly assessing the market before we can make that last massive injection…its going to be very expensive,” Hendrickson told the Business Observer, referring to the final phase of spending, including kitchen equipment and interior outfitting.

“And as we go along there may be some more changes, because, to be honest, it’s an ever-changing look and we want to be current,” the hotelier added.

He was, however, unable to provide a ballpark estimate for that final investment.

Hendrickson acquired the 303-room property at 77 Knutsford Boulevard in 2014, purchasing it at auction after it had been shuttered for several years.

The hotel, formerly operated under Ocean Chimo Limited — the investment vehicle of Delroy Howell and partners — had earlier been taken over by RBC Royal Bank in 2011 and placed on the market as the lender moved to recover outstanding debts.

Hendrickson has since invested heavily in the site, including roughly US$17.6 million to acquire the property, with early-phase redevelopment costs pushing projected investment north of US$62 million as plans evolved to reposition the building.