Go Bahamas
Nicola Jones fought her way through crowded streets and climbed on the double-decker bus, heading home after a day's work at the Gatwick Hilton. The skies were grey and Jones was tired. Buried deep in her handbag, her mobile phone rang. Jones's life as she knew it was about to change.
The caller was Michael Hooper, former general manager of the same Gatwick Hilton, and Jones's previous boss. "Guess what I'm doing?" he asked. "What?" said Jones, staring out at the rain. "I'm sitting on a beach watching the sun set over the ocean. I'm in the Bahamas. Fancy coming here to work?"
The answer was an immediate yes. In March last year Jones took up her position as front office manager of the British Colonial Hilton. It is a majestic old 1920s English hotel on Bay Street, Nassau - capital of the Bahamas - and famous for being in two James Bond films, Thunderball and Never Say Never Again.
Jones and Hooper, the hotel's general manager, formed part of the 325-strong hotel staff preparing to rejuvenate the former low-spend Best Western property which was due to open last June. It was Hilton's first opening on the islands, and the group, which manages the hotel for its Canadian-based owner RHK Capital of Toronto, oversaw its B$69m (£46m) renovation.
Last year's hurricane Floyd (which caused millions of dollars damage to hotels on the islands) plus construction problems delayed the opening until October, with the official ceremony on 4 December. But the Colonial, where the rack rate is now more than 300% its Best Western days at B$225 (£150) a night, is pulling in guests fast. Occupancy figures have been rising every month, standing at 67% for June.
A B$10.5m (£7m) extension attached to the hotel, known as phase two, is set to be the location for Nassau's new stock exchange as well as featuring upmarket shops and restaurants. It will further enhance what was a run-down area of the town.
With phase two about eight months behind schedule, again because of building work, the hotel's original annual turnover is forecast at B$16.5m (£11m) - less than anticipated.
The rebirth of the British Colonial is just the latest major investment in the 18 islands that make up the Bahamas. The biggest financial boost was two years ago when the American-based luxury global resort operator Sun International opened its gigantic B$849m (£566m) Atlantis resort on Paradise Island (connected to Nassau by a bridge).
This was a massive injection into the islands' tourism industry. For all the beauty that the Bahamas offers, its tourism trade, which last year made up around 60% of the gross domestic product at B$1.5b (£1b), had become tired and dull and in need of rejuvenation.
Gazing out of the window of his office, which overlooks the magnificent cruise liners, crystal blue water and swaying palm trees, Gary Young, general manager of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, says flatly: "Tourism is the reason this country exists." He acknowledges the problem: "We were what you would call a mature product. Most mature destinations are in need of a relaunch and we got it in the shape of the billions of dollars invested by Sun International. We have had a refurbishment and regeneration."
But Young adds that the stagnant market wasn't all down to the tired image of the Bahamas. The 1989 to 1992 recession in the USA (which supplies 82% of the islands' stopover tourists) and the Gulf War forced hotels on the Bahamas to drop their hotel prices in order to attract customers back.
The arrival of Atlantis turned that round. Hiring 5,500 staff, with rumours of pool attendants making as much as B$70,500 (£47,000), has bolstered the industry to such a level that the average room rate for Nassau and Paradise Island jumped 35.3% from B$105 (£70) in July 1998 to B$142.50 (£95) in July 1999.
Another benefit of these all-inclusive resorts, including Sandals Royal Bahamian and Breezes (Superclub), is their ability to market themselves. "A lot of our hotels used to look to us to do the marketing for them," says Young. "But these large [companies] create their own image that allows us to spend more money on promoting the Bahamas. From the Bahamas' tourism budget of B$615m (£410m), B$25.5m (£17m) will go on marketing the islands."
Increased self-promotion has also changed the type of visitor attracted to the islands. Obviously, the Bahamas is dominated by holidaymakers, cruise visitors, and those staying in all-inclusive resorts such as Atlantis. But there is also an increasing corporate market helped by the expanding financial sector. Similar to Jersey, the Bahamas financial centre is growing as the islands become known as a tax haven (residents don't pay tax). There are about 400 registered banks in Nassau, employing around 8,000 of the islands' 150,000 workforce, while tourism employs around 40,000.
Hotels such as the 700-bedroom Radisson Cable Beach Resort, Nassau, is just one of the companies that has seen this growth. Its vice-president, Stephen Sawyer, says: "We have seen a diversity of business and we are seeing a resurgence of groups and corporate travel." Its literature claims the Radisson is "the Caribbean's most popular resort for meetings and incentives".
The hotel is also driving towards all-inclusive breaks, the average of which is B$2,400 (£1,600) for two weeks in a shared room. Sawyer says: "Five years ago we were roughly a B$34.5m (£23m) operation. That has now risen to B$49.5m (£33m)."
Hilton recognised the strength of this growing corporate market to the extent that the Colonial's refurbishment includes one of the hotel's seven floors (the fifth) being designated the business floor. All the floor's 46 rooms are fitted with large desks, fax and modem points. The 58 rooms on the sixth and seventh floors are executive rooms, which offer the same amenities as the business floor plus an Executive Clubroom Lounge.
Jones elaborates. "It was always going to be a businessman's hotel. At the beginning we anticipated the corporate/leisure split would be 60/40 respectively, but in the next budget the corporate will probably rise to 75%." Jones is used to dealing with businessmen as they made up the majority of guests at the 500-bedroom Gatwick Hilton. Although the average stay for businessmen in London was 24 hours, in Nassau it's up to four days.
Going after a different customer market keeps Hilton out of direct competition with the likes of Atlantis. But one thing the hotels have in common is the small staff turnover. Sawyer at Radisson claims 97% of staff return year after year, while out of Jones's 58 front of house personnel, only two have left. "In Gatwick I basically had four new staff a week. It's very stable here," she says.
Most of the islands' hotel staff also belong to the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union. There is a standard union agreed rate of pay among all the hotels, with most staff paid weekly. Compared with UK wages, some are well paid. For instance, at the Colonial a duty manager can earn the equivalent of £333 per week - and pay no taxes.
The union can place quite stringent rules on the Bahamian hospitality industry. Strikes have been known to shut entire hotel complexes down but, as Jones says: "As long as you abide by their rules they respect ours. It's a bit of give and take."
Hooper explains further: "The union does dictate that you should have certain levels in the hotel. In the restaurant we have captains (like supervisors), waiters and bus persons." Hooper also says he has more staff than at Gatwick. "Here we have 325 staff for a 291-bedroom hotel, whereas at Gatwick we had 280 staff for a 500-plus bedroom hotel."
High duty costs on food and trying to source specialised ingredients occupy the time of executive chef Mark Percival. The Newcastle-born chef, also a Hilton veteran, who heads the 36-strong kitchen brigade, imports every food product he uses in the hotel's two restaurants.
Very little grows or is farmed in the Bahamas, and most goods come from the USA, with fruit and vegetables imported from Florida, which means excessive duty charges. "Every item has a different mark-up," says Percival. "There's no duty on red meat, but chicken and pork both have a 30% duty charge, while on pineapples you can pay as much as 300%."
But the charges don't stop Percival trying to obtain the best produce he can for the 60-seat, fine-dining Wedgwood restaurant. It feeds around 50 guests a night, with each paying an average of B$49.5 (£33) with drink. The menu boasts a combination of English and Bahamian dishes (cockie-leekie B$ (£3.80), a traditional island dish of conch chowder B$5.70 (£3.16), or fresh Bahamian grouper B$26.55 (£17.70)). In the 110-seat Portofino eaterie, recipes are a mixture of Italian and Bahamian, and include cheese tortellini tossed in mango and cheese sauce, or scallop of veal.
When asked if there are any ingredients he misses, Percival replies: "Yes, Devonshire clotted cream." Obtaining this is becoming more of a reality, Percival says, because the arrival of Atlantis has widened the supplier base and luxury items such as sushi, pigeon, or pheasant are all more accessible.
The opening of Atlantis coupled with big brand names such as Hilton signals a bright future for the Bahamas. "Brand names are good because people recognise them," says Young.
A further development is increasing travel to the "family islands" that make up part of the outer islands. These offer more discreet hotels with some, such as the tiny Acklins island, having just one five-bedroom guesthouse. Young says these elements are important because of increased tourist competition, especially with the opening up of Cuba, which is only 60 miles from the Bahamas and offering cheaper holidays.
But with the increased investment, not only from the big hotels, but also the government, Bahamians are confident of their future.
FACTS:
The Bahamas
The Bahamas, which is only 50 minutes' flight from Florida, consists of 18 islands. New Providence Island (which includes Nassau and Paradise Island) and Grand Bahama Island are the major islands.
There are 14,153 total bedrooms in the 231 hotels on the islands.
Average tourist spend in Nassau (for 1998) was £651, while in the Bahamas as a whole it was £543.
Main local countries in tourist competition to the Bahamas are Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica.
Average rack rate in the Bahamas as a whole has risen 6.9% from £82.50 to £88.
75% of all visitors were on holiday, 6% on honeymoon and 7% on business.
There is almost an even 50/50 split between first and repeat visitors to Nassau/Paradise Island, while the outer islands capture 64% of the repeat business.
In 1998, 82% of visitors were American, 5% were Canadian, 8% Europeans, and 5% others.
The top four complaints from visitors include prices, litter, attitude of people (also in the top compliments) and airlines.
Source: Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 20-26 July 2000
