The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Resorts are eyeing “unprecedented” Christmas occupancies after the US upgraded The Bahamas’ COVID status, a top hotelier said yesterday, with many on pace to beat pre-pandemic levels.

Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business that he expected “the phones to start ringing again” with inquiries for meeting, group and convention-related bookings after the federal health authorities decided to remove the ‘Level 4’ “do not travel”  advisory on this nation.

Speaking after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) upgrade was unveiled by the Government on Friday, Mr Sands warned that The Bahamas “cannot rest on our laurels” and be satisfied with ‘Level 3’ status. This still means there is a “high” level of COVID-19 in this nation, and he asserted that it would be “even better” for the economy’s recovery prospects to hit ‘Level 2’.

Reiterating that group business was “very important to the success of mid to large-sized hotels”, typically accounting for between 25-40 percent of their occupancies, the BHTA chief said many hotels were “ahead of or meeting” pre-COVID business levels for Thanksgiving and the Christmas festive season prior to ‘Level 4’s’ removal.

Suggesting that the upgrade could potentially put the Bahamian resort and tourism industry over the top for the winter season, he added that “certainly by the end of the 2022 first quarter” the sector will have fully recovered” from the devastation inflicted by the pandemic.

“That’s exciting news, and certainly the industry is very happy about that change for The Bahamas,” Mr Sands told this newspaper of the CDC upgrade. “It speaks to the fact we have been managing COVID well in our recent past, and the lag that had been introduced on the group bookings is removed.

“I think that with some of those impediments that were in place now gone, it puts us back on the pace with forward bookings. First of all, the US travellers are no longer faced with a ‘do not travel to The Bahamas’ syndrome. That’s an immediate positive sign, and the other positive one is for group business.

“That speaks volumes to the direction the tourism industry is headed in, and if we continue to control COVID and follow the protocols put in place, we are poised for an excellent year in 2022.”

The Bahamas’ upgrade to ‘Level 3’ status with the CDC was announced by Dr Pearl McMillan, the chief medical officer, on Friday afternoon although checks by this newspaper showed the federal health authority’s advisory on this nation had yet to be updated as of yesterday evening.

Mr Sands, though, said the improvement will boost the tourism industry and wider economic recovery “across the length and breadth of the archipelago” when it came to attracting more tourists in every travel segment.

“I would say they were lagging in terms of forward bookings,” he added of ‘Level 4’s’ impact on the group and convention business. “Many US corporations did not want to travel to a destination where that impediment was in place, and with its removal the phones will start ringing again and interest will pick up. I have no doubt about that.

“We like our group bookings to be anywhere from 25-40 percent of our business. That base is extremely important. In large hotels it impacts gaming revenues, it impacts food and beverage, it impacts everything. It assists with managing, and yield managing, our rates in the times we have that business in. It’s a very important element, certainly to the success of mid to large hotels.”

Mr Sands said The Bahamas’ upgrade will also positively impact segments of the leisure travel market that are influenced by health advisories when deciding which destination to visit, and added: “All around it’s a very positive position for The Bahamas.

“We must continue to work to get that [CDC] level reduced further because it will be even better for us. We cannot rest on our laurels here, and must work to get that CDC rating down to a ‘Level 2’, which will be even better for the destination. There’s only one direction that The Bahamas wants to head in, and that’s down to ‘Level 1’. We don’t want to regress.

“What I mean is everyone taking COVID-19 management seriously, and working collectively to ensure the protocols are always in place. If we do that I think we can achieve our ultimate goal of even being better than a ‘Level 3’. We must not be satisfied be satisfied with a ‘Level 3’, and must work to be better than a ‘3’.”

Mr Sands added that The Bahamas’ CDC upgrade would make already-strong winter tourism prospects even better. “I can tell you that bookings for this winter and Thanksgiving even with the ‘Level 4’ rating, and removing that will make them even stronger,” he said.

“That means we may see unprecedented levels of occupancies; maybe not for Thanksgiving, but certainly for the festive and winter season. I think in some instances many properties are exceeding their pace and reaching levels from 2019 for Thanksgiving and the festive season.”

While unable to give figures, as they varied between properties, Mr Sands added: “What we are beginning to see is we will reach the pre-COVID levels that we’ve anticipated, and our move from ‘Level 4’ to ‘Level 3’ will contribute to the winter season exceeding 2019 levels.

“I’m thinking we’re on pace or slightly better, ahead of or meeting 2019 levels. I would say certainly by the end of the 2022 first quarter we would be fully recovered.” While some resorts, such as Sandals Royal Bahamian and the Melia Nassau Beach, will be closed during Thanksgiving and the Christmas/New Year period, Mr Sands said demand was “very high” based on available inventory.

“I think you’re going to see unprecedented levels of occupancy in the Family Islands, and principally because we see increased airlift going into those islands to support demand, as we see increased airlift coming to New Providence as well,” he added.