Five of the major hotels on New Providence and Paradise Island reported occupancy rates below 30 per cent with South Ocean Golf and Beach Resort reporting the most disappointing results. Only four of the larger resorts on the islands saw occupancy results above 50 per cent.
The South Ocean resort has dominated the news recently with the announcement that the resort will lay off up to half of its present employees and temporarily close approximately 100 guestrooms. There are also speculations circulating that the property’s owners were actively seeking a buyer for the property.
One resort however reported comparatively good results reflecting an increase over September 2002 figures. Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort was the only resort to report occupancy levels above 70 per cent.
Basil Smith, executive vice president of The Bahamas Hotel Association suggested that because the resort is apart of a strong branded chain they were able to use advertising to promote the brand. “The Brand is serving them well,” he said.
Stephen Zaidie, general manager of Sandals Royal Bahamian said the resort was still struggling from the after effects of Sept. 11, adding that since the tragedy, the resort has had to work feverishly to stimulate travel including the implementation of intense marketing strategies and major discounting.
He said however the Sandals brand has stood strong against the fallout of Sept. 11. This has a lot to do with quality. “People want to make sure they are getting value. At Sandals we like to think we give good value,” he said.
Mr. Zaidie said the all-inclusive concept is in high demand right now in the travel industry, which he attributes as a contributing factor towards the favourable occupancy results.
SuperClub Breezes another all-inclusive resort did not participate in this high all-inclusive demand as the resort reported occupancy levels below 40 per cent a decrease of 23 per cent from September 2002 occupancy results.
The British Colonial Hilton one of the four larger resorts to achieve occupancy above 50 per cent saw the second highest occupancy next to Sandals Royal Bahamian. A report recently issued to The Bahamas government revealed that the Hilton posted accumulated deficits of $34 million and the resort’s investors were receiving minimal returns.
Michael Hooper, general manager at the British Colonial Hilton, revealed in an interview with the guardian earlier last week that although the hotel was performing reasonably well in the areas of occupancy, average room rate and revenue compared to other Hilton International properties, the hotel falls down in the area of profit percentage. He attributed this fact to reasons such as: wage costs, productivity and high electricity costs.
By Martella Matthews, The Nassau Guardian
