The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Hotel workers are eagerly anticipating the “biggest ever increase in gratuity” payments taking full effect in the New Year, a union chief has revealed, as he urged members to “deliver value for money”.

Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) president, told Tribune Business that workers at Atlantis and other hotels that are part of the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association (BHREA) bargaining group have had to wait for all pre-industrial agreement visitor bookings to “exit the system” before the gratuity element is fully implemented.

“All the emoluments and increases have gone into effect,” he explained. “We’re still waiting for the full effect of the gratuity to come into effect. Persons booking prior to the signing of the industrial agreement in March, once those persons are out of the system we will see the full effect.”

The previous lower gratuity sum will have been included in visitor packages prior to the new industrial agreement’s signing between the BHCAWU and a hotel group that, besides Atlantis, also included the Ocean Club Four Seasons, Lyford Cay Club and Town Hotel. With those pre-agreement bookings now dwindling, more staff are enjoying the $1 gratuity rise.

“By now the beginning of the winter season, most of those persons are out of the system,” Mr Woods said. “Anyone left, they’ll [the hotels] have to point them out to us. That in itself should cause an increase in their take home going into the New Year.

“The room attendants got an extra $1 on their gratuity to be shared with the housekeepers and common pool. That’s significant. That’s the largest increase we’ve ever got from gratuities for the industry. For sure we should be there by now, and the New Year for sure.”

Mr Woods, though, was quick to remind hotel workers that they must live up to their side of the industrial agreement bargain. “Our mantra is that service needs to be elevated again to take care of the guests, the repeat and the new ones, so the latter become repeat tourists and we deliver value for money at the end of the day,” he added.

“We fought hard to get it [the industrial agreement], and want them to show they greatly appreciate them by the value of the service level they give to the guests. Everything looks great and we are really grateful. Like anything we’ve been at it, we’ve fought, we were successful in what we got and continue to say thank you to the employers.

“They could have made it difficult, more difficult than it was, but we were able to come to a common medium. That’s what happens when you respect people, and try to get the best for them in the moment but take into account the long-term effect also.”

Mr Woods said hotel worker hours, earnings and employment prospects appear typically strong ahead of the Christmas and New Year festivities when resorts typically run at or close to full occupancies. “They are doing pretty good by all accounts,” he said of BHCAWU members and staff generally.

“I know things are picking up. The numbers are still pretty good and employees are still working a full week and are able to pick up extra shifts in that vein. Things are looking pretty good for them on that front. They are battening down and preparing for Christmas.”

Acknowledging that the traditional September-October fall drop-off was more pronounced in 2024 than in prior years, Mr Woods added: “Last year they would have pretty much worked through September, October and November.

“This year they worked reduced days, some restaurants closed and some persons were rotated in and out. All in all, even though it was slow we made it through. Yeah, it might have slowed, but I don’t think it’s the slowest I’ve ever seen it.”

The union president said he had taken note of recent comments by Audrey Oswell, the Atlantis president and chief executive, who said present occupancies and forward bookings - while still strong - were lower than prior year comparatives. Mr Woods said he felt she may have been referring to targets, or projections, set for the Paradise Island mega resort but he added that the numbers she gave were not unusual.

“I hear the concerns but I don’t know if I’m overly concerned about it,” he said. “It’s probably that they had certain expectations that didn’t materialise, and we know that any time there’s a US presidential election people don’t travel like that. They wait and see what’s going on, and if you look at the US market since the election everything is pretty much up.

“The Trump factor is in there. I think the outlook is good. Mr Trump made some statements on the campaign trail as it relates to immigration, the border and tariffs. I’ve been watching that. We’ve just got to watch it. The Bahamas is not a major player in that world, but whatever happens there will trickle down and impact us.”