SAN JUAN -- Delegates to Caribbean Marketplace 2003, the annual
conference sponsored by the Caribbean Hotel Association linking
suppliers with buyers, are more optimistic than a year ago at the
state of the tourism industry.
Many hoteliers reported January bookings above initial
expectations, and some expect sellout weeks in February, which is
traditionally the high point of the winter season.
All bets are off, however, if the U.S. and Iraq go to war.
Rich Cortese, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' area director of
operations in the Caribbean, spoke for other delegates regarding
the threat of war when he said most hoteliers had formulated no
game plan in the event of war. "We just hope it will be quick, over
fast and have few casualties," he said.
Despite the possible threat of war, buyers and suppliers huddled
over appointment books and contract papers, drawing up package
plans and charter schedules for summer 2003 and beyond.
Rafael Subervi Bonilla, tourism minister for the Dominican
Republic, in fact, was so busy at the Dominican Republic booth
booking charters and helping fill the country's 54,000 hotel rooms
that he missed out on lunch.
Apparently, Bonilla did not mind. The phenomenon of the
Dominican Republic's success in courting tourists in recent months
more than made up for the lost chicken-and-peas meal.
Bonilla said that Punta Cana was "exceeding all expectations for
visitors. We have signed charter agreements with many operators for
additional flights from U.S. gateways into Punta Cana this summer
and next fall."
Highlights from Caribbean Marketplace 2003 include:
• St. Kitts Marriott Royal Resort plans a soft opening of 200 of
its 471 rooms on Feb. 22 with a full opening following in May.
Seven holes of the 18-hole golf course will open next month as
well, along with three of eight restaurants. The 30,000-square-foot
Royal Beach Casino also will open in February with 403 slot
machines and 37 gaming tables.
Introductory nightly rates at the resort, in effect through Dec.
15, start at $99 per room, double.
• Other Marriott news includes the opening of the first
Courtyard by Marriott in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in July
and another in Trinidad within 24 months.
Also, the 260-room Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde Beach
Resort, formerly the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, opened Jan. 7 after
a four-year closure. A four-month renovation and conversion project
featured a "total redo of the property," according to Luis R.
Rivera, general manager.
Target markets are business and leisure groups. Meetings space
"is too limited" to appeal to the corporate and group market,
Rivera said. To appeal to families, each room offers a VCR/DVD
player and mini-refrigerator. A video rental store will open in the
lobby by the end of the month. Other facilities include a lobby
casino, ice cream parlor, lobby lounge and two restaurants.
The beachfront resort, five minutes from Luis Munoz Marin
International Airport, pays 20% commission through April 30 on
introductory rates of $195 per room, double, including buffet
breakfast.
The resort is listed on Marriott's Web site, at www.marriott.com,
although it will maintain its own site at www.sjcourtyard.com shortly.
• Wyndham said first quarter results for its Puerto Rico
properties would show business up 33% over last year and 20% over
2000.
The hotel firm is now the largest owner/operator in the
Caribbean with a room inventory of more than 4,400 rooms in Puerto
Rico alone and a total of 11 resorts on six islands.
Wyndham spent more than $20 million on renovations in the past
six months, signed up the millionth member of its Wyndham By
Request brand loyalty program and plans to launch a pro-active
travel agent incentive program later this winter.
• The Dominican Republic will shortly launch a $20 million
advertising and promotional campaign in the U.S., targeting the
destination's attractions, infrastructure, variety of resorts,
sports and ease of access.
• Joey Issa, executive vice president of SuperClubs, said that
2002 "had been a long and tumultuous year, but this year promises
better results." The firm's new Breezes Punta Cana Beach Resort,
Spa & Casino, which opened in December in the Dominican
Republic, is sold out through February.
Its Breezes Puerto Plata Beach Resort & Spa, which opened
this month in the Dominican Republic, also is off to a running
start. "Business is phenomenally good," Issa said.
Meanwhile, SuperClubs will open two new resort properties in
Cuba this year and next, the 307-room Breezes Cayo Coco this year
and the 430-room Grand Lido Veradaro in July 2004.
In addition, the firm plans to start construction late next year
on a Breezes resort in St. Kitts, with an opening projected for
2006.
Issa said "cold weather up North and pent up demand for travel"
is pushing bookings this winter. We will not have to discount as
much as we have in the past."
• SuperClubs' cruise promotion, launched in December, offers one
night free at any SuperClubs' resort with proof of a cruise taken
within the past 12 months.
Issa said the promotion's tagline of "SuperClubs Cruise 02 03,
Try SuperClubs 4 Free" will appear in key U.S. newspapers and
publications this month.
Coral by Hilton inclusive brand to debut Feb.
1
By Gay Nagle Myers
SAN JUAN -- Hilton Caribbean, a division of Hilton
International, and Dominican Republic-based Coral Hotels and
Resorts (CHR), will launch their inclusive Coral by Hilton brand
Feb. 1 with four properties in the Dominican Republic operated by
Coral Hotels and Resorts.
Late last year, CHR tapped Hilton Caribbean to assume the sales
and marketing efforts for its properties, which will continue to be
marketed by CHR.
The launch not only represents Hilton Caribbean's entree into
the inclusive resort market but also marks Hilton International as
the first major worldwide hotel company to create an inclusive
brand.
Hilton Caribbean currently has eight hotels and resorts in the
Caribbean with two more under way in Barbados and Haiti.
Danny Hughes, vice president of operations for Hilton Caribbean,
said "as Hilton expanded within the Caribbean, we knew that we
needed a presence in the inclusive market. That market always
figured prominently in our growth plans.
"The addition of this portfolio of resorts and the launch of the
Coral by Hilton flag is a joint venture that will create a new
standard in the inclusive market."
Simon Suarez, executive vice president of CHR, said, "We spent
years refining our product to prepare our company for growth.
Hilton's strong Caribbean presence, marketing power and service
standards will lead to expansion of Coral by Hilton throughout the
Caribbean."
The CHR inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic, which now
operate under the Coral by Hilton name, are: Coral Canoa Beach
Resort & Spa, Bayahibe, La Romana; Coral Costa Caribe Beach
Resort & Casino, Juan Dolio; Coral Hamaca Beach Resort &
Casino, Boca Chica; and Coral Marien Beach Resort & Spa, Puerto
Plata. Also included is the new Guavaberry Golf & Country Club
in Juan Dolio.
For information, call CHR at (800) 847-0291. Reservations can be
made after Feb. 1 through www.hiltoncaribbean.com or www.coralhotels.com.