2008 Caribbean Hotels Retreat
By Melanie ReffesWhile the economic forecast may not be as sunny as the weather forecast, delegates at the 2008 Caribbean Hotels Retreat in St Kitts remained upbeat about the tourism season ahead. “We could easily become pessimistic about future travel and tourism, however, negative thinking is not an option for our industry at this time,” said Richard “Ricky” Skerritt, Minister of Tourism, Sports and Culture for St. Kitts & Nevis referring to the crisis in the world economies. “We must look to the future with optimism knowing that we have faced difficult times before and our industry is resilient.”
Designed to meet the needs of small, independent hoteliers, the Retreat was organized by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), in conjunction with the St. Kitts & Nevis Hotel & Tourism Association, and was held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Resort from October 1 to 3.
Greeted with a standing ovation, Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts, made no bones about the difficulties facing the region. “The sharp increase in the cost of energy has been the biggest enemy of our regional economies,” he said. “Tourism in the Caribbean has been one of the victims with wide-ranging negative impacts including reduced airlift and rising airfares.”
Feeling the pinch of soaring costs, small properties are also faced with other challenges unlike larger hotels. “Tour operators, for example, have 3-star hotels in a bind because they cannot charge more for their rooms once packages are sold,” noted Sir Royston Hopkin, owner of the 32-room Spice Island Beach Resort in Grenada. “We have to tighten our belts and work twice as hard to deliver value.”
Romney Penn knows about working harder to fill rooms. As the owner of the 65-room Treasure Isle hotel in the BVI, he is seeing the effects of an uncertain economy. “We have gone from 10 flights daily to five and without airlift, our hotels are going empty.” A unified Caribbean region, according to Penn, is the loudest voice for lobbying the airlines for additional airlift. “Collectively, the region stands a better chance rather than appealing to the airlines as single destinations.”
Marketing the region as a whole was echoed by Peter Odle, owner of Mango Bay Resort in Barbados and CHTA Chairman and Past President. “Individual countries do not have the marketing power on their own,” he said.
Steve Mayers manages the 30-room Sirena Resort in Anguilla and says pro-activity is needed to assist small hotels. “The CHTA should push for more tax incentives from the individual island governments to offset our costs,” he said. Also operating a small hotel in Anguilla, Delray Lake, general manager of the 27-room KU hotel, believes incentives would reduce the costs of fuel, food and renovations. “I’m looking at 25-per cent occupancy for January compared to 50 per cent this time last year. Tax breaks would ease the strain of these high costs.”
For John Yearwood, manager of the 32-room Oualie Beach Resort in Nevis, the price of energy is paramount. “We will soon start using steam harnessed from the volcano as our major energy source,” he said, adding he will maximize this eco-astute move as his niche marketing advantage in a sluggish market.
Advising hoteliers to remain upbeat, CHTA Chairman Peter Odle is confident the region will see an upturn in visitor arrivals. “Tourism showed a rebound after 9/11 and it will rebound again. It is a question of weathering the storm over the next 12 months and I am sincerely optimistic we will do just that and do it well.”
