The Tribune

* RIU to temporarily lay-off 85% of staff

* Planning to offer voluntary separations

* Pinder: Hotel set to close until March

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A major Paradise Island resort will offer workers voluntary separation packages following this Sunday's closure that will put at least 85 percent of staff back on temporary furlough.

John Pinder, the director of labour, yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business that the RIU Paradise Island resort had informed the Government it plans to close again until "some time in March" and temporarily lay-off hundreds of workers.

He added that the Spanish-owned all-inclusive resort chain had told workers it was prepared to offer full severance packages to those workers who want them, and it will then determine how many it can accept depending on demand and the positions they occupy.

RIU executives could not be reached for comment yesterday despite multiple attempts by this newspaper, but Mr Pinder said: "What has been communicated to me is that on the 17th of this month, RIU intends to close until some time in March.

"They don't intent to fire any staff, and plan to put them on furlough; a temporary lay-off situation. They'll keep a low percentage of staff there to ready themselves for whatever business comes after March, and if staff wish to apply for separation packages they'll review them and see how many they can accommodate."

Mr Pinder said he was not told how many employees work at the RIU Paradise Island, or the number that will be put back on temporary furlough so soon after being recalled. "All they said to me is they are going to keep 10-15 percent of staff to carry out renovations, and the rest they'll put on furlough," he added

The labour director agreed with Tribune Business that it "certainly won't be" possible to revive the Bahamian hotel and tourism industry without encountering challenges and setbacks, as RIU's move highlights.

While the resort's rationale for the latest closure is unknown, it is thought that present occupancy levels and forward booking forecasts for the peak winter season were simply not sufficient to justify keeping a property that stands adjacent to Atlantis open from an economic perspective. It will now re-open just before the early April Easter holiday if all goes to plan.

Mr Pinder said many Bahamas-based resorts are "pushing back" opening plans due to the surging COVID-19 infection rates in The Bahamas' major tourism sources markets, in particular the US, Canada and Europe and the UK.

Another prime example is Sandals, which has pushed the return of its Emerald Bay and Royal Bahamian properties back to February 24, 2021, and March 31, 2021, respectively. The former had previously been scheduled to open its doors on February 1, while the latter had targeted January 28.

The moves mean a further anxious wait of between three-and-a-half and eight weeks for Sandals workers to return to work. Adam Stewart, Sandals deputy chairman, last year said concern over this nation's then-high COVID-19 infection rates and uncertainty over the Government's re-opening strategies had meant the chain delayed its Bahamas return to last.

It is likely that Sandals' latest push back is related to the same external factors impacting the RIU and the rest of the Bahamian resort and tourism industry, with bookings and forward business indicators simply insufficient to justify re-opening amid reduced airlift and increasing impediments to travel being imposed by major source markets.

Exuma-based tourism providers said the latest slippage in Sandals Emerald Bay's return had further undermined market confidence, with the sector becoming increasingly nervous that it could be pushed back even further due to soaring COVID-19 infections in the US.

Ray Lightbourn, Exuma Water Sports' principal, told Tribune Business of Sandals' delay: "We were very upset, but there's really nothing you can do about it. We have to accept it, I guess. It could be because the numbers in the US are so bad right now; that could be part of it. It's been almost a year now with COVID. We're used to being broke."

Atlantis also placed multiple food and beverage workers back on furlough with effect from January 4 as a result of occupancy forecasts looking "less than favourable" for the month, and that was before the US belatedly followed other nations in introducing the requirement that returning US travellers must produce a negative COVID-19 test within three days of flying or sailing home.

Dionisio D'Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that the enhanced US restrictions could have a chilling effect on tourism's revival.

"It's yet another impediment to travel, and all impediments to travel are not good for the tourism sector," he told Tribune Business. "Until the word gets out about how easy it is to get a test done in The Bahamas, I'm sure it will be a significant deterrent. People stress about this sort of thing."

Tourism industry players and the Government discussed the potential impact of the CDC's new requirements in a morning conference on Wednesday. Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association's (BHTA) president, said: "We think The Bahamas is well poised to deal with the issues they have presented."