GROS ISLET, St. Lucia -- Sandals and Beaches Resorts posted an 11%
increase in business from the U.S. during the first nine months of
2002 compared with the same period a year ago, according to Gordon
"Butch" Stewart, chairman of the Jamaica-based resort chain.
Stewart credited the increase to efforts the company took to
enhance guest value and to support travel agents with full
commissions and promotional outlays.
Spending on advertising and agent support "made good business
sense," he said, as it drove business to agents. Virtually all of
the firm's business comes from agents, much of it by way of tour
operators, he added.
Stewart said the Sandals Specialist study course was among
efforts undertaken "to help agents succeed."
"The Sandals and Beaches customer needs personalized attention,"
he said, "and it is the travel agent who gives it."
Agent support has been, and will continue to be, a key Sandals
policy, Stewart said. (Stewart's emphasis on agents was recognized
at the recent ASTA congress in Honolulu, where he was inducted into
the ASTA Hall of Fame.)
In other news:
• Sandals and Beaches spent more than $30 million on renovations
and upgrades to all 20 properties this year.
• The 360-room Sandals White House will open on Jamaica's
southwest coast between December 2003 and February 2004, featuring
18,000 square feet of meetings space and sports activities ranging
from horseback riding to scuba diving.
• Sandals and Beaches may expand to the U.S., "but it would have
to be in a tropical locale," Stewart said. "So far, only the
Florida Keys have been considered, but there is nothing
planned."
• Although late-booking patterns continue, the practice is
slowing, and more bookings are coming in further out, according to
Stewart, who reported that all properties appear to be sold out for
the Christmas-New Year's period.
• The opportunity for the Jamaica Tourist Board to restructure
itself "should not be lost," according to Stewart.
He suggested that "sound staff training be started along with
the development of some good planning strategy -- something that
has been missing in recent years."