The Tribune

• Owner says Xmas/New Year ‘insane as usual’

• Expects booking ‘gap’ to close for winter peak

• Abaco hotel’s summer ‘slammed’; eyes record

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Harbour Island hotelier yesterday said the Christmas holidays were “bananas as usual” with December 2022’s revenues 33 percent ahead of pre-COVID comparisons for that month.

Benjamin Simmons, proprietor of The Other Side and Ocean View properties on Harbour Island and Eleuthera, told Tribune Business that the festive period was “insane” with continued strong demand enabling him to increase room rates by between 10-15 percent during the month.

This more than offset a slight drop in occupancy, and he described his properties’ December performance as being “as good as or better, for sure” than what they achieved during the same month immediately prior to the pandemic in 2018 and 2019.

“New Year and Christmas was bananas as usual,” Mr Simmons told this newspaper. “Tourism was insane before and after. We’re still riding at about 75 percent occupancy right now. We were over full, sold several times over [for Christmas and New Year.

“It’s always the way it works out. And it’s already booked for next year. The families who checked out are booking for next year’s Christmas period already. That’s the sequence. That’s how it goes. It’s great. I just wish it was spread throughout the year, but it is what it is.”

Mr Simmons, who has 24 rooms spread between his two properties, said he expects to close, if not eliminate, the present booking gap that exists between 2023 and prior years for the upcoming months that form peak winter season. “We are at 82 percent for bookings in January to February versus 84 percent last year, and for March we are currently at 72 percent versus 83 percent last year,” he revealed.

“I would expect that to pick up and will fill in the gaps closer to the period. April, I would imagine, will be a similar deal. April’s bookings are at 68 percent versus 81 percent last year. We expect that to catch up.” Average December occupancies at Mr Simmons’ two properties were marginally less year-over-year, standing at 77.2 percent compared to 78.9 percent in 2021, but this was more than offset by the impact of the room rate rise.

“We raised the rates by around 10-15 percent; it wasn’t much,” he explained. “But our revenue is one-third higher, around a 33 percent increase, in comparison to December pre-COVID. Our occupancies were 60 percent for the month in 2018, 55 percent in 2019, and 78-79 percent for the post-COVID period. It’s looking good.

“Our wedding market is really strong, bookings are doing really well, and that drives occupancies. The island is almost at that point where you wish for a slow period where you can lick your wounds and put some paint on. We take our windows when we can get them; the next one will be May. We’re grateful the destination is holding its demand. The Bahamas is not going to subside as an easy, convenient place for Americans to vacation.”

Mr Simmons, noticing an increase in Canadian visitors, added that travellers were still “coming out of the woodwork” post-COVID. He added: “It’s all good. It’s strength to strength. We hear whispers that the new airport is coming in North Eleuthera, and that might be a game changer. Where the extra volume stays I don’t know because the island is at full capacity.”

Molly McIntosh, general manager of The Bluff House Beach Resort and Marina in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, told Tribune Business that 2023 is presently trending towards being a record year for the property which will be “slammed” by the level of business already on the books for June and July.

Reporting a strong, solid Christmas and New Year period, rather than one that was “wild and insane”, she said wedding and private pilot group business resulted in volumes doubling compared to prior years for November and December. “It’s really looking good,” Ms McIntosh said. “January is a month when we get a lot of bookings as people come off Christmas and start to look for their vacations. It’s been even busier.

“March and April are looking really good. June and July, they’re packed. We’ve sold out of certain room sites, the dock and marina are getting booked right up. June and July are going to be slammed in 2023, and March and April are going to be pretty close to the same. I think they’re going to be sold out, and I really think they’re going to be better than 2019 which was our best year ever before Dorian.

“Our ADR (average daily room rate) is higher, and occupancy looks like it’s going to be higher. Right now it’s trending that way. That’s the way it’s going unless something changes. People are looking to get out in the fresh air, experience different cultures, be out in nature and have high quality food. They don’t want rustic.”

The Bluff House, which has eight rooms, also manages nine villas. Ms McIntosh said the resort itself has invested more than $3m to rebuild itself and associated amenities, including the marina and a new restaurant, following the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Dorian.

“The owners are thinking of doing another building,” she added. “One of the buildings taken down in the hurricane, they’re thinking of putting a new building up there with town houses. If they do that it will be right on the water, but it will not happen until the fall after this season.”

Ms McIntosh also pledged that the Bluff House’s marina will restore its refuelling facility within the next 18 months, and switch to an alternative provider if necessary should the present company be reluctant to follow through. The resort also plans to work with the Green Turtle Club to jointly stage events that will drive group business and other traffic during the slower months in the tourism calendar.

Identifying the remaining obstacles, Ms McIntosh said: “Everyone wishes that the Treasure Cay airport could get a little terminal and we can get some more flights in. It’s not killed us but it’s hurt us, and a little investment would go a long way. There’s no terminal, and Customs and Immigration have to work out of a trailer.”

The airport is presently open only to scheduled charter flights and private planes, and she added: “I feel strongly, because I have been here a long time, and know there will be a return on investment. They don’t need to do an airport like Marsh Harbour where they spent millions of dollars; just hand us a terminal that’s clean and we’ll take care of it.”

Other concerns remain the lack of suitable, affordable housing on Abaco for employees, which was causing persons to leave the island. And inflation is forcing the Bluff House to increase pricing to guests. “The cost of everything has doubled and tripled,” Ms McIntosh said. “A gallon of mayonnaise has gone from $17 to $36. Eggs in grocery stores are around $8, $8.50 for a dozen.... It’s having a big effect because we are not making as much money.”