Family, friends, colleagues bid farewell to veteran hotelier

A witty, humble man who had a real passion to see indigenous hotels succeed and who went out of his way to help others was how family, friends and colleagues of veteran hotelier Jeff Kinch remembered him as they gathered at the Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens Monday morning to bid him farewell.

Kinch, who served as President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) from 1994 to 1996 and was inducted to the Caribbean Hoteliers Hall of Fame in 2017, died on May 15 at the age of 78 after a long illness. He established the Dover Beach Hotel in 1977 and also ran a refrigeration and air conditioning firm, Refrigeration and Electrical Services (RES).

Fellow hotelier Peter Odle said he first met Kinch in 1978 and the two of them worked with each other on the BHTA executive in the early 1990s.  He said: “When we were recruiting a new executive director, Noel Lynch was one of the candidates, but there were some reservations because at the time he was an aspiring politician.

“Jeff simply asked during one of our meetings: ‘Is he the best man for the job?’ And nothing more was said after that.”

Odle quoted Lynch, who is now Barbados’ ambassador to Washington, as saying: “What stood out was Jeff’s ability as a mentor and he was the most well-behaved person I ever met.”

Odle concurred, saying: “Both Noel and I could be very forceful as we tried to get our points across, especially on matters we were passionate about, but Jeff would always tell us to sleep on issues and speak calmly.”

Odle also described Kinch’s sense of humour, saying that “he should have been a stand-up comedian because he was very witty, could speak in many different accents, and often used that skill to trick unsuspecting colleagues.”

He recalled: “We were at a meeting in the Bahamas, and Jeff called another hotelier pretending to be an Indian food and beverage manager, and he had him convinced for quite a while, but I could not contain myself and the hotelier asked, ‘Is that Peter Odle laughing in the background?’ That’s when he realised it was Jeff who was calling.”

Kinch, a founding member and first deputy chair of the Intimate Hotels Group was remembered for his belief that Barbadian companies should have a greater say in the tourism industry.

Intimate Hotels Group Executive Director Davina Layne said: “He was an astute businessman, intent on creating opportunities for others to achieve the success he had, and while he was often firm in his opinions, he was always willing to give a listening ear.”

One of his employees at Dover Beach Hotel, Marcia Yarde, recalled: “He had a great bond with his employees and his guests. He often went beyond the call of duty to assist staff members, and many of our guests became repeat customers after he developed friendships with them.”

Kinch’s three daughters, Ade, Adua and Anika, noted that he was the youngest of seven children and left the Combermere School at 14 to go to work to improve his family’s lot.

At 19, he joined the British Army and served in Aden, Guam, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Germany and Canada. This military experience “helped to expose him to new cultures and different ways of doing things”, the daughters said in their tribute.

They remembered him as a father who despite his busy schedule prioritised his time with them, “and he would often take us to the neighbourhood in which he grew up in Brittons Hill and tell us stories about his life there. He was also very strict, in that we could only watch television for an hour a day; we were to spend the rest of the time reading books or playing with our friends. We never doubted his love for us and he taught us to treat everyone with respect, no matter who they were”.

In her homily, Reverend Marcelle Brathwaite, priest in charge of the Dalkeith Methodist Church which Kinch attended, said: “Good memories keep us focused, and help us to realise that whatever we are going through now will not last forever. They will cheer you and give you the strength to carry on.”

In addition to his daughters, Kinch is survived by widow Ethnie and six grandchildren. (DH)