Bookings for high season are looking promising at many resorts and guest condominiums; with reports that perhaps bookings and occupancy levels could be returning to what was normal pre-Ivan.
While recent air arrival figures this year have been struggling to be even half of the previous year’s, hoteliers and condo managers are seeing improvements in bookings, with business picking up for high season, especially for the end of December, and for February and March.
Meanwhile, by December there should be 81 per cent of licensed bedrooms available (for hotels, guesthouses and apartments on all three islands), according to Department of Tourism projections. It is projected that by March 2006 there should be 94 per cent of the pre-Ivan number of licensed bedrooms on all three islands.
Bookings at The Hyatt’s 53 Beach Suites are moving in the right direction according to new interim manager Diego Concha. Although September has been soft, as usual, October is much stronger in the build up to the winter period. The end of December is booked out and the forecast for the first quarter of 2006 is very strong.
‘I truly believe there will be a turnaround next year,’ said Mr. Concha, who explained that for this high season, a lot of marketing has been done by the hotel in the United States, so they are expecting to reap returns on this. Mr. Concha said Cayman Airways’ winter Boston route will serve the hotel well. The suites are running at 80 per cent. He is optimistic that the rest of the hotel can start to move forward soon, as it is hoped that an insurance settlement can be reached by the middle of next month.
Scheduled to open in December, the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman is nearly fully booked for the first quarter of 2006. In December the resort will open half of its rooms only, to ensure a smooth opening transition and that all operations are working according to plan.
The Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort reports bookings to be looking very good for December. On November 1 the hotel will open up the rest of its rooms, making the full 307 available, and construction as part of its $15 million refurbishment will be full completed.
‘Christmas is looking good and bookings are looking good into February and March,’ explained Director of Sales Nadia Stradling. Even October and November are stronger than would be expected, she said, and appearing to come back to normal.
The Courtyard by Marriott is seeing lots of availability coming up to the Christmas period and beyond, but with a small booking window it can often be difficult to tell in advance how future bookings look, says management. The hotel is at 40 per cent occupancy, which is pretty good for this time of year for this property.
Condominiums look as though they will experience a busy high season after a slower than usual summer.
Lacovia Condominiums are totally sold out for the Christmas period. Having re-opened in November 2004 following Hurricane Ivan, the condominiums have been well booked since then.
The Islands Club has 70 per cent of its condominiums up and running and bookings are going as normal for this time of year, with bookings on those available condos looking good for November and December and bookings going through to April. A large part of these bookings are repeat visitors.
At Casa Caribe Condos Thanksgiving is very busy with some bookings coming up to Christmas and the week of December 26 to New Year is fully booked out. This comes after a slower than normal summer. While bookings for January are slow, February and March are already looking busy.
Plantana Condominiums are looking busier for high season than they have for the past two years and were booked up a year in advance for the week of December 26 to New Year. The traditionally slow month of January remains the same, while February and March are busy. The condos, like others, look busy for high season after a slower than usual summer, according to management.
Resorts on the Sister Islands are also boasting good occupancy. Brac Reef Beach Resort is looking at from 60 per cent upwards leading up to Christmas and high season. A small booking window makes it difficult to assess property, however, said a staff member.
Divi Tiara Beach Resort in Cayman Brac also reports good bookings for high season, and the resort is in top shape having finished up maintenance work in September.
While at the moment Little Cayman Beach Resort is looking at bookings of 30 per cent for December, by the time it comes around they will probably be up to nearly 80 per cent because of the small booking window, explained one of the managers Ms Sam Baker. Bookings were good last year and this one is looking even better.
Some concern was expressed over airlift being adequate to meet demand for both Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands, however.
Speaking as Cayman Islands Tourism Association Director for the Hotel Sector, Ms Stradling said that those in the accommodations sector are very keen that Cayman gets back on the tourist map and the message gets out that things are back to normal here. She said this is something CITA and DoT have been working together on and are continuing to take very seriously.
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