The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor WHILE Atlantis's performance for March and April 2012 has matched pre-recession levels, Kerzner International (Bahamas) top executive yesterday said the resort - although "very confident" -wanted to "see what happens over the next six to nine months" before concluding that business is back to 'normal'. Confirming that the Paradise Island resort's group business was "on track" to meet projections of a 30 per cent year-over-year increase for the 2012 full year, George Markantonis, the company's president and managing director, told Tribune Business he was "very confident" the March-April trends would continue. Disclosing that bookings indicated Atlantis was on track for a "sold out Easter", following a March when it was "pretty much" at 100 per cent occupancy, Mr Markantonis said room rates/yields were also mounting a "comeback". While again too early to determine if improving rates were a long-term trend, the Kerzner International (Bahamas) head also said the company's Paradise Island resorts, and the Bahamian hotel industry in general, "need to see more" airlift supply to reduce access costs for incoming stopover visitors. "It's been an excellent March so far, and we continue to look forward to a strong April," Mr Markantonis told Tribune Business. "We have very high demand. Every day we see the bookings. That's a good omen. "We're looking at a very strong Easter. Right now, the booking pace suggests we will have an excellent Easter. We'll be sold out for Easter." Asked by Tribune Business whether Atlantis's business had returned to pre-recession levels, as measured by the early 2008, pre-Lehman Brothers collapse benchmarks employed by the Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA) and wider Nassau/Paradise Island resort sector, Mr Markantonis replied: "We haven't really focused on that. "As far as March and April are concerned we are at those levels, but we need more than two months. We have to see what happens over the next six-nine months........... We're never satisfied, but are very pleased with our business right now. We hope this trend continues, which we are very confident it will." "We are also seeing a comeback on rates, but this is not the period to judge that by. This is high demand, high value business in the winter. We need to see what it looks like for the year, and through summer." Tourism industry consultants, such as HVS, have argued that critical to the Bahamian hotel industry's performance in 2012 will be the ability of various properties to raise room rates, given the increased international competition and continued tendency of tourists to seek out deals. Also key to both Atlantis and the One & Only Ocean Club's performance, Mr Markantonis said, was whether the US economy - the Bahamas' key stopover source economy - continued its stock market rebound and housing market recovery. "When all those things are positive, consumer confidence sets in, and we anticipate becoming a beneficiary of that," he added. Leisure stopover business had "picked up" for May, Mr Markantonis added, aided by specific promotions by Atlantis to compensate for what looked like a relatively soft group month. Still, Atlantis is expecting to enjoy a solid group business foundation for 2012 overall, as this key segment continues to rebound from the recession's depth. "We said this year we were probably going to run 30 per cent up on group room nights compared to the prior year, and we're on track," Mr Markantonis told Tribune Business. "I know we're going to be up 30 per cent for the year, and we're already up strongly for the first period of the year, with the exception of May, and then November. "The main reason for November this year is the presidential election in the US. That tends to be the big story." Kerzner International's marketing spend for its Paradise Island resorts was "definitely up, but not drastically" for 2012, Mr Markantonis saying that it aided in the resort developer "coming out of the recession" last year. Praising increased airline service to the Bahamas, the Kerzner International (Bahamas) president told Tribune Business: " I think the Ministry of Tourism and Government have been doing an excellent job in bringing additional airlift into the country, and that's not benefited hotels just in Nassau, but has been a very big benefit for the Family Islands. "Delta is flying direct from La Guardia, and we're told those flights are running actually full. It's been a pleasure to see Delta come back - they stopped those flights in 2009 - and it's a credit to the Government and the Ministry of Tourism to get them back. "We need to see more of that. It [Delta] follows on from the success of Copa Airlines from Panama. As we get increased airlift, seats are priced more reasonably and that always helps us."