ykemp@tribunemedia.net
The incoming Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) president yesterday said the industry plans to hit the “reset button” for 2021 after a year that was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert Sands, Baha Mar s senior vice-president of external and government affairs, told Tribune Business: “COVID-19 requires all of us to reset the way forward button. Notwithstanding, we will continue the BHTA agenda that we have started. In addition, additional focus will be to jump start the hospitality sector safely, and without compromising value for money and guest satisfaction. Top on our agenda will be ways to ensure hotels get tax relief and, at the same time, government benefits for incremental business. We will create an environment for increased cost competitive airlift, and improved airports throughout the islands of The Bahamas.
The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association s (BHTA) outgoing president said this nation must rely on its existing qualities and exceed guest expectations to rebound from COVID19 s ravages.
Speaking on Friday at the Association s 68th annual general meeting (AGM), which was held virtually for the first time, Carlton Russell, who stepped down after four years in the post, said: “The very fact that I am speaking to you from a computer screen as opposed to in-person speaks to the monumental shift that has taken place, across the globe, due to the unprecedented effects of the COVID pandemic.
Mr Russell, who will continue to serve the BHTA as immediate past president, said the slogan Build Back Better, developed after Hurricane Dorian s devastating impact, “continued to be applicable, though in an entirely different context and due to an entirely different cause”.
ykemp@tribunemedia.net
Baha Mar has increased the number of staff being brought back for the Grand Hyatt s December 17 re-opening to 1,800, or 40 percent of its total workforce, the resort s top executive said yesterday.
Graeme Davis, the Cable Beach mega resort s president, told Tribune Business that this represented a slight increase on the initial 1,500 figure given when it unveiled its re-opening plans as he reiterated the goal remained to open the SLS Lux and Rosewood properties in the 2021 first quarter
Explaining that he did not anticipate a major pick-up in guest bookings until March 2021 or the first quarter s end, he said: “I don t expect to see a solid increase until March 2021, and that is if our key markets in the United States - the COVID -19 surge - declines dramatically, demand continues to pick up and, of course, airlift is there to support it.