According to a story in Wednesday’s paper, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Stuart Johnson during a visit to Diamond Resorts International was told the latter’s two local properties won’t reopen until the first quarter of 2020. That’s a bit disappointing, because it basically means these will be unavailable for not only the upcoming high season but much of the next one too.
The good news is that they have at least started the rebuilding process and plan to be back in business at that time. Timeshare owners are also regularly kept abreast of developments, which is very important.
Moreover, the company has committed to giving former employees preference when hiring personnel, especially those who participate in the Hospitality First Training Programme at National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA). Extending these courses-with-stipend by another year certainly for these persons seems like a no-brainer.
Nevertheless, no matter how you look at it, having to do so long without 140 Royal Palm Beach Club (RPBC) and 240 Flamingo Beach Resort (FBR) rooms signifies a big blow to the local stayover tourism sector and consequently the entire economy. Considering that not all resorts in operation are at full capacity either, it appears obvious that the hospitality industry is still far from what it was before Hurricane Irma.
Mullet Bay Towers hopes to be back with its 81 rooms soon, while some 90 timeshare units of The Westin at Dawn Beach are set to come on line in batches. However, there’s no word yet regarding its 317 hotel rooms.
Ocean Club and Summit Hotel were both destroyed, while Sapphire Beach Club Wyndham, The Cliff, Royal Islander and La Terrasse, Blue Marina, etc. are all basically empty. If one adds all these up, more than 1,000 visitor-accommodations and several times that number of beds continue to be out of use.
This is the stark reality the island faces, so it’s crucial that what inventory remains is occupied as best possible. Residents offering space to guests via, for example, Airbnb can help in that sense, but for now the destination will simply be doing with less.
