Gay Nagle Myers
How does a former director of tourism transition to operations director of a villa management company in a destination whose borders remain closed to international travelers?
That's the situation currently facing Sharon Flax-Brutus, who was born and raised in Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), where she most recently served as tourism director and head of the BVI Film Commission for eight years.
This stint followed 12 years in management posts at the Rosewood Little Dix Bay Resort in Virgin Gorda, a position as station manager of American Eagle in the BVI and overseer of her family-owned tourism business before that.
Sharon Flax-Brutus
Flax-Brutus hung up her tourism hat in June and took on the title of director of operations of Virgin Gorda Villa Rentals and Leverick Bay Resort & Marina, two separate organizations under the same ownership that was formed in 1990.
She admitted that "it is a bit difficult to run a villa business these days in the midst of Covid and our closed borders, but we are hopeful that by the end of the year the situation will normalize a bit."
"This is a fluid situation and our government is being very cautious in opening up, but our properties are doing well despite all of this," she said.
Currently, the borders of the British Virgin Islands remain closed to international travelers and there's a curfew through Sept. 16 due to a recent spike in Covid cases.
However, in spite of these obstacles to business, Flax-Brutus reported that her villa properties "are doing pretty well. BVI residents are taking me up on our staycations promotions that feature discounted rates and a minimum three-night stay, reduced from the seven-night standard requirement."
She's already learned to get creative when it comes to booking locals. "One family group here had planned a trip to Greece this summer, but it was canceled. I offered them two villas on Virgin Gorda instead of vacation in Greece, and they took me up on the offer and had a great vacation here at home," she said.
Prior to the curfew rule, occupancies were running near 90% in the villas and at Leverick Bay on weekends.
Virgin Gorda Villas bills itself as a luxury product with a portfolio of 20 villas in the Mahoe Bay area while Leverick Bay is a three-star operation with 16 hotel rooms, four two-bedroom suites, a 40-slip marina, watersports, restaurants, bars and other resort facilities overlooking North Sound.
Villa guests have access to the Leverick Bay facilities.
Flax-Brutus reported that several bookings for the villas in October, all from the U.S. East Coast, the primary market.
More than 50% are from travel advisors and tour operators.
"We are taking bookings but if the borders aren't open, we will refund the deposit or give the clients the option to book later," she said.
The year 2020 "looked close to normal at the beginning, with solid bookings and the prospects for a record year, but Covid turned the tables on us in March," Flax-Brutus said.
The staffs at the villas and Leverick Bay have used the downtime to familiarize themselves with the Covid-19 health, safety and hygiene protocols throughout the properties.
The websites of both Virgin Gorda Villas and Leverick Bay cover the Covid protocols in detail.
"Our staff is comfortable now with masks and gloves; our housekeepers know the cleaning rituals and we all recognize that the No. 1 amenity that all guests expect and demand is cleanliness and hygiene," Flax-Brutus said.
She noted they don't do back-to-back check-in and checkout. "The rooms and villas are cleaned at all touch points, and we wait at least 24 hours before the next guest checks in," she said.
Upgrades to furnishings and decor also have taken place in many of the villas, with an eye toward creature comforts and those accessories that "make each villa more marketable," according to Flax-Brutus.
All have WiFi, high-speed internet and satellite TV, and more villa properties may be added by the end of the year.
Flax-Brutus said her goal is "to take these products to another level in terms of service. My love is hospitality, and I've found that villa vacation management fulfills that love."