Spread the generosity! This is the message which hoteliers are sending Government following the announcement of sweeping concessions to the Jamaican hotel chain, Sandals International.
“Government should spread those concessions around rather than give them to a single group,” said Jeff Kinch of Dover Beach Hotel. “Things have been very tough in the last six years for small hotels in particular, but hotels generally.”
The former chairman of the Intimate Group of Hotels said the concessions would have helped hotels come up with more competitive rates for accommodation, food and liquor.
He added that it was “unfortunate” Government had not sat down with players in a sector where most of the small hotels were owned by Barbadians to discuss their needs before offering the concessions.
Government has announced a 25-year tax holiday for Sandals International, which this month took over Couples Resort (previously Almond Casuarina) in Dover, Christ Church, and will also be opening a new resort at the former Almond Beach Village in St Peter.
