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Dusit Thani... Guam's Own, by Pacific Rim An Interview with Pacific Rim’s, Keith Stewart-President By John Aguon There is something kind of galactic about Guam’s latest hotel addition. And while you are at the base of the Tumon hotel strip epicenter, sandwiched between existing operating properties of Outrigger Hotel and Underwater World, there juts out a marvel, albeit, a historic and amazing hospitality edifice called Dusit Thani. It is the completed and exceptional work of Pacific Rim. Hired on, along with his company, Keith Stewart, president, and head banner-bearer for this feat, led the charge starting in the latter part of July, 2013. It wasn’t something he was looking for, but as the stars and planets began their alignment on this soon-to-be local construction wonder, he succumbed to the gravitational forces and got swept into the orbital draw. He, and, of course, Pacific Rim, was in. As Stewart began his account of the project, his rhetoric seemed strikingly familiar to what I had encountered in previous marriage seminars. Words like challenges, expectations, relationships, etc. You know, those terms spouses bring up when you’re not listening. I digress. A veteran of hotel construction, having worked in locales like the Caribbean, and stateside, in San Diego, Stewart had an exceptional portfolio of construction successes, and as he would realize with the Dusit Thani, he would need those “references” to muster through the complexities and maze of plans, and expertise, and resources needed to accomplish showtime expectations of his owners and hotel operator. It had to be, surely, a pressure-cooker environment for all involved, but that also contributed to the achievement this project gestated. In the thick of if, right things, along with some not-so-right things, happened. Stewart illustrated, “We would need a certain number of craft people to complete a particular scope of work. And, they would be available. Then, as the work neared completion, they would move on to another job site or another company. That was indicative of how things would go. It wasn’t accidental, but many situations just worked out.” Citing the amount of self-performed work, around 50%, that they had to do, he comments, “In many of these situations we just had to self-perform, because we just could find the right crew to accomplish this or that.” One thing crystalized in the interview with Stewart; he seemed to espouse some primal kind of work ethic, and as evidenced in the final work product (Dusit Thani), it had to be in whole, part of the Pacific Rim DNA. In many ways, over 600 of them, Pacific Rim’s worker force, a tour de force of sorts, was an unadulterated fully 100% local-hire team of Guam’s fathers, 20 | JANUARY2016
sons, moms, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunties, and friends. As Stewart puts it: “Guam’s community built this hotel. 100%.” Therein is some of the wonder and historical relevance. No H2’s were employed by Pacific Rim at all. As the locals’ might proclaim, “Guam’s own.” No matter how you slice that kernel of fact, that is something we all should be appreciative of—“Guam’s own.” Given the steep demand for labor to outfit the current and future Guam Military Buildup projects, that 100% local-hire factoid, will remain one of the wonders ascribed only to Guam’s largest constructed commercial building—Dusit Thani. Also, key to their work ethic are some stated core values: Honesty, integrity and accountability. Stewart seems tuned into those values, speaking well of his team and their collective contribution to this Pacific Rim success outcome. He quickly defers the kudos to two of his key team members—Tony Costa, General Superintendent and Vic Gonzales, Mechanical and Plumbing Manager. “While I acknowledge these folks, our team members were all outstanding, and I was quite proud of what they and our subcontractors accomplished at Dusit Thani. This project would not have been possible without the concerted and cooperative effort of the team.” Meanwhile, some notes about the hotel itself: It is Guam’s first five-star resort consisting of 31 stories, 419 guest rooms, specialty suites, 20,000 square feet of meeting space, the Dusit Thani Hotel is the largest building on Guam has the largest grand ballroom with banquet seating for 980. The hotel includes six VIP suites with private patios and pools, large beachfront pool and bar, three restaurants, a cafe, spa, onsen treatment center, executive lounge and fitness center. Having completed the Dusit Thani, Stewart sees a ready place for Pacific Rim in the region. “While we will engage in other future activities, we will continue to build our Pacific Rim brand as our mainstay, completing both construction and development.” As he explains they are interested in pursuing other projects, “Probably, distinguishing ourselves by our ability to construct and develop large projects. We know how to do large projects. But, we are still a family-owned small business, still agile, meeting the needs of the client, with local decision-making. And, we will focus on creating alliances with large U.S. and local contractors.” And, what a great “demo” of the possibilities you can expect from Pacific Rim in the Pacific Rim. Stewart comments, “This building really belongs to the people of Guam. They will have anniversary dinners here, they’ll celebrate with their families, they’ll be utilizing these facilities.” He was glad to have been a part of it, especially, organizing and working with the local team. You know, “Guam’s own.” www.guamcontractors.org