Concerns are being aired by condominium managers with regard to the lower numbers of stay-over visitors for what should be high season.
February, March and April are looking to be the only real good months of high season for short-term rentals in condominiums, said Rory Mohammed, director of the condos sector for the Cayman Islands Tourism Association.
Mr. Mohammed said that condo occupancy rates are running well down on what they were for last year’s high season for the short-term rental pool.
‘Every condo manager is experiencing the same thing,’ he said.
Mr. Mohammed added that some complexes are even discussing the option of disbanding their short term rental pools altogether.
‘Getting people here is the biggest problem,’ he said.
A lack of direct airlift from the Northeast United States and the cost of airfare are turning tourists off coming here, he believes.
Mr. Mohammed, who also manages Lacovia Condominiums, explained that of the 35 units available in the short-term rental pool at Lacovia there is only looking to be three months of high season – February, March and April.
He explained that high season would normally be for six months of the year – spanning November through April, inclusive. However, for the past two years, most noticeably this year, there has been very low occupancy for November, December and January, he said.
This past November, December and January have seen occupancies of 36.76 per cent, 39.37 per cent and 44.5 per cent respectively at Lacovia.
But for February business began to pick up – at 53.78 per cent – and March is looking to be in the high 50s or low 60 per cent, with April looking promising also. He noted that Lacovia seemed to be faring better than most condos as they have a lot of repeat visitors.
Mr. Mohammed said that at the monthly meetings held by the condo sector most managers agree that numbers are down for the short-term rental market.
Manager of Casa Caribe condos Effie Mitchell agrees with Mr. Mohammed that low season has lengthened to nine months of the year.
Giving an example of her occupancy statistics for some 17 units in the rental pool, Ms Mitchell said that in December 2005 her occupancy was at 52 per cent, but by last December it had gone down to 35 per cent.
‘We don’t have airlift and the product is now in trouble. In fact, it’s a combination of everything,’ she said.
Ms Mitchell elaborated that so many big buildings on Seven Mile Beach means that the culture and charm of the island has been lost for some tourists.
Along with this, the service is nothing special, she said. ‘They may as well be in downtown Miami. We’ve lost our identity and now the product is in trouble.’
The clientele that had been coming here are now going to other quaint Caribbean islands such as St. Bart’s, St. Thomas and Anguilla. ‘They’re going there for what we used to be,’ she said.
If some condos do decide to get rid of their short-term rentals it could mean the loss of jobs for Caymanians, Mr. Mohammed warned.
Purely using Lacovia as an example, he said that it has only two expatriates out of 14 on its staff and the loss of a short term rental pool could mean those jobs lost. ‘It’s not a good situation.’
Mr. Mohammed said that what he, and those he represents, would like to see available, is direct airlift, out of the Northeast US, where the majority of stay-over guests come from. ‘Our guests say it is so difficult to get here and the cost of flights is too high.’
‘These are very significant concerns,’ said Mr. Mohammed. ‘The fact is we’re getting lost in the shuffle, and right now we’re feeling that we’re losing a battle we can’t win.’
Ms Mitchell said the problems began in the late ’80s when tourism figures began to slide. ‘Now we’re leaning towards cruise tourism and forgetting about stay-over,’ she said. ‘The two are like oil and water. They don’t mix,’ she said.
‘We have an industry that’s gearing towards cruise tourism. If that’s what they want then they should say so and let everyone know that. If not, they need to find a balance between the two,’ she said.
Not every condominium development on Seven Mile Beach is experiencing the slow-down, however.
Plantana Condominiums’ Assistant Manager Marcia Eichenberger said things are generally going well for them and their 38 units in the short term rental pool. Their high season has always spanned from 15 December through to 16 April and that has also been the case this year. January this year, at about 60 per cent occupancy, was better than previous years, she said.
March is almost fully booked and February was at 80 per cent from a few last minute cancellations, she said.
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