Jon Martineau of Accra Beach Hotel says early exit of India is hurting.

by CAROL MARTINDALE

WITH LOWER THAN USUAL BOOKINGS at this time, some hoteliers on the South and West Coasts are concerned Cricket World Cup (CWC) will not bring the sweets that were promised.

Some have been slapped with cancellations, especially from Indian fans whose team surprisingly went out in the first round, and some have had to step up advertising in overseas markets to fill vacant rooms.

Some hoteliers have also expressed the view that staging of the World Cup at this time pushed away regular Easter travellers, who were concerned about the bustle in Barbados at this time, as well as inflated room rates.

However, Minister of Tourism Noel Lynch has told key players in the industry not to panic. He agreed with hoteliers that the timing of CWC was not perfect but said that "ultimately we have got to make [it] work for us".

Here are the views of some hoteliers:

Jon Martineau – general manager, Accra Beach Hotel.

"Two years ago we predicted this," said Martineau.

He said while there was no doubt Barbados would be full for the final on April 28 at Kensington Oval, it was the lead-up to that day that was the problem.

"What really hurts is the early exit of India," he added, expressing some concern that even with the early deposit on hotel rooms, some might not follow through.

"I don't think this was the month to do it but we shouldn't panic. We knew this would happen. This is not the time to point fingers but put heads together and see how best we can make this situation better."

Martineau said rates in some hotels were even higher than the regular winter rates. But he said this was expected with any destination staging a world class event. "It is an economic reality," he added.

Another reality, he said, was that "regular tourists" would be bypassing Barbados as the perception was there would be a hive of activity. "Some people just don't want to be a part of that."

Gina-Lee Johnson – Amaryllis Hotel.

"We need to treat whatever business we get from the English and Australians and South Africans coming for the Super 8 like gold because we have lost the opportunity with the Indian market," said manager Gina-Lee Johnson.

She said her hotel had confirmed bookings at 25 rooms a day, adding they were hoping for no fall-out. She said barring cancellations, her hotel would be 75 per cent full.

Michael Poynter – Elegant Group, which includes Crystal Cove, Colony Club, Tamarind Cove and The House, all in St James; and Turtle Beach, Christ Church.

Hotels operating under the Elegant Group have already been slapped with a number of cancellations and their occupancy rates are way behind last year's bookings. The occupancy rate for April is 60 per cent.

Michael Poynter, chief operating officer with Elegant, said they had already received a substantial number of cancellations for the five properties.

"We are concerned about reservations for April, especially now India and Pakistan are no longer in," he said, adding they were forced to reduce hotel rates at least twice since December.

Poynter said that in hindsight, World Cup could have been held in May or June.

He said that to deal with this situation, they had already stepped up advertising in Britain and the United States. In addition, they are working even more closely with tour operators in Britain.

Annette Edghill – Gems of Barbados, which includes Savannah in Hastings; Time Out in St Lawrence, and Blue Horizon, Rockley Beach, all in Christ Church.

Across the properties of Gems, occupancy rates were "okay". Marketing manager Annette Edghill said the days on which cricket was being played, the occupancy was "not too bad".

Alvin Jemmott – general manager, Divi Southwinds.

That hotel has a 72 per cent occupancy. All rooms booked for cricket have been paid for in full already.

carolmartindale@nationnews.com