Hotels remodel and reshape to remain viable

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ADAPTATION and remodelling have been some of the most critical watchwords for the business community, and in recent times they have been the vessels to keep both small and large hotels afloat amid stormy economic conditions.

The global economic crisis came in a time when a number of hotels had just enjoyed a blossoming tourist season and had been revving up for another year of bountiful returns. For others, it came at a time when many hotels did business [as usual] with no contingency plan to safeguard future operation. However, as the recession in larger economies deepened, the possibilities of mass layoffs and significant reductions in occupancy hung over the tourism sector and it grew increasingly important to get back to the drawing board and remodel themselves to remain viable. 

In fact, according to the Director of the St. Kitts-Nevis Hotel and Tourism Authority (HTA) Michael Head, being flexible and adapting to economic changes are “vitally important” keys to survive. He said the challenge for businesses includes improving their product and increasing investment in marketing.

“This is absolutely important for hotels – small and big. Hotels must keep up or improve the standard of their product, and I am very happy that government gave the local hotels duty-free concession to do just that. The other thing is that hotels must keep up on marketing, so that when they come out of the recession they remain on top of things,” Head told SKNVibes.

At the two largest hotels on St. Kitts, the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and the Royal St. Kitts Hotel, time share initiatives were recently introduced, marketing efforts strengthened and student housing climbed its way to be one of the key elements in maintaining occupancy.

General Manager of the Royal St. Kitts Hotel Dimitris Cosvogiannis explained to this media house that its time share programme, Vacation for Life, and its recently launched student housing service are not measures used merely to remain viable. He added that improving marketing and customer service is essential in order to improve business during an unpromising tourism year.

“We have been doing very strategic planning and marketing to a very narrow market in order to maximise return. We have also reviewed our nightly rates to create more interest and more demand.

“It is imperative and critical that we rethink what hospitality is about,” he said. “It’s no longer about just giving them a bed; we must have high service levels. We have to change our approach. The crisis brings a wakeup call for us. We should refocus our attention – it’s about the attitude and approach, not about just repainting a building,” Cosvogiannis concluded.
In Nevis, adaptation and remodelling are no foreign concepts, as even the small hotels have revamped their product and polished their service standards.
Faith Bertie, Acting General Manager of Oualie Beach Resort, explained to SKNVibes that with low bookings, it is necessary to do things that the hotel has never done before. Now, the hotel offers ‘last minute’ holiday specials for locals and an all-inclusive package for university students to spend a weekend at the hotel.

In explaining the recent changes the hotel underwent, Bertie said, “With the economy as it is, the bookings are not coming in as expected, so we are trying to cater more for Caribbean residents. We have never done an all-inclusive package but these [changes] are necessary because they work. That is what is really keeping us going and we are going to explore other similar opportunities.”

At Mount Nevis Hotel, management was able to reduce its rates by over 40 percent, promote its conference services and target various institutions for events. According to management, the changes have allowed them to be protected, for the most part, from the effects of the global recession.

General Manager Raul Rizzuti told SKNVibes, “We have just finished redesigning, and in June we will be shaping up our property for the busy season. These changes are very important because, although business is slower than last year, we are not affected very much. Some it may be catastrophic but we are doing well.”

Meanwhile, some hotels have not embraced the remodelling initiatives as they see it more appropriate to cut costs and still maintain a high quality of service. One hotel on St. Kitts, the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI), has not launched out into creative ventures but has been very keen on cutting operational costs and redundant services.

In the words of Assistant General Manager Peter Race, “The hotel is still the only one in town, so we will get what we can. However, we are trimming costs where we can: we closed a few sections and we are closing one of the restaurants more often. We are working our way through. Our biggest expense is electricity, so right now we are just trying to see how we can cut back.”
He however noted that the hotel lowered its rates over a month ago to make them “more attractive” but maintained that, at this point, the hotel would not launch any remodelling initiatives.

The crisis has, without doubt, posed many unforeseen challenges but flexibility and adaptation may ensure a speedy rebound once the global economy sees an upturn.