Bookings at major hotels on the island are expected to be at or near 100 per cent for the upcoming holidays, according to reservations reports.
At Atlantis, the nation’s largest resort operated by Kerzner International, the combined occupancy of the Royal, Coral and Beach Towers on Wednesday was at 82 per cent. That occupancy was expected to shoot up to near 90 percent on Christmas Day and the mid 90s on Boxing Day.
The hotel’s daily operations report forecasted 96 per cent occupancy for New Year’s Eve. However, new reservations being added daily, was expected to push that occupancy to 100 percent with overbooking possible.
Tim Roby, Kerzner International’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said Wednesday that the hotel was expected to continue with a strong occupancy in January.
On the Cable Beach strip, Robert Sands, Vice President of Administration and External Relations at Baha Mar Development Company, said he was expecting the combined occupancy of the company’s three properties to be in the low 80s on Christmas Day. These three properties are the Nassau Beach Hotel, Wyndham Nassau Resort and Radisson Cable Beach Resort.
“We’re certainly looking for a full house on the 27th and 28th to the New Year’s, and a strong house over Christmas and Boxing Day, which is better than last year,” said Mr Sands.
“On the 27th and 28th, we’re expecting occupancy in the high 90s and 100 per cent around the 30th and 31st,” he added.
Mr Sands further noted that the hotel’s reservations trend over the past few years showed that vacationers were booking earlier in December and staying longer throughout the New Year.
“Because in the past, the build-up was very late and it would be short-lived over New Year’s, but now we’re now seeing a build-up earlier in the third week of December, which is a good thing,” he said.
“I think that is a direct result of increased airlift. The more capacity you have coming in, the better occupancy you’re going to have.”
Vernice Walkine, Director General of Tourism, told The Guardian in an earlier interview that the Ministry of Tourism was encouraged by the increased bookings at hotels in The Bahamas due to a rebound in world tourism.
“The Bahamas seems to be benefiting from this renewed interest in travel because it looks like our hotels are generally booked for Thanksgiving and they’re booked for Christmas,” she said.
American tourists represent 85 percent of all visitors to The Bahamas and most of them arrive here by air.
By: MINDELL SMALL, The Nassau Guardian
