SUPERCLUBS' management contract with the 146-room
Grand Lido Sans Souci in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, will be terminated by
the property's owners, effective April 30. Owners British American
Tobacco placed the property up for sale, according to John Issa,
SuperClubs' executive chairman who said that 11 years remained on
SuperClubs' contract and the company "will seek arbitration" to
resolve the issue. Interim management is scheduled to be in place
May 1, and the resort, which had been under SuperClubs' Grand Lido
brand since 1994, will be renamed Sans Souci Resort & Spa until
it is sold. Bookings and commissions are protected through April
30. Agents holding bookings from May 1 onwards will be notified by
SuperClubs of the management change. The Grand Lido brand will
continue to be represented by the Grand Lido Negril and Grand Lido
Braco resorts, both in Jamaica. A Grand Lido resort is under
construction in Cuba and another is planned for St. Kitts, although
development was halted following 9/11.
LODGEPODGE
• Puerto Rico's hotel inventory fell by 100 rooms with the recent
foreclosure of the Candelero Resort at Palmas del Mar in Humacao on
the island's southeast coast. The hotel was part of Palmas del Mar,
which includes residential units and rental villas, still in
operation. Rick Newman, president of the Puerto Rico Hotel &
Tourism Assn., said that guests who held reservations when the
hotel closed were relocated to other properties. "Several groups
have expressed interest in acquiring and reopening the hotel once
the financial matters are resolved," Newman said.
• Aruba's first One Cool Summer promotion, which covers honeymoon
and family vacation packages, is valid for travel of four or more
nights between May 1 (blackout dates are May 21-26) and Dec. 15.
Incentives include the fifth night free at 17 participating resorts
and use of the One Cool Value Card, which offers more than $800 in
savings and discounts. For details, www.aruba.com.
• The 150-room Carambola Beach Resort on St. Croix's north coast,
purchased in August by a Baltimore, Md., investment group, now pays
20% agent commission and has discontinued the timeshare operation
in effect under former owner Sunterra Corp. Suite rates start at
$225 per night, double. Ocean Hospitalities, a New Hampshire-based
management firm retained by the new owners, plans to upgrade the
resort "to bring the property to its fullest potential," according
to Scott Rosenthal, director of sales and marketing. Carambola was
briefly under the Westin flag in the late 1980s.
PLEASANT HOLIDAYS added a travel advisory page
to its agent Web site at www.pleasantagent.com. The page includes the
operator's cancellation policies and travel protection plans;
airline phone numbers; and links to airports, the Transportation
Security Administration and the U.S. Dept. of Homeland
Security.
CAYMAN AIRWAYS will launch 737 service six days
a week (never on Wednesdays) between Fort Lauderdale and Grand
Cayman, effective April 6. Departure from FLL is 11 a.m. except on
Saturdays when takeoff is set for 7 p.m. The introductory roundtrip
fare of $169 is valid through April 30.
RATES AND DATES
• Several Curacao hotels and American Airlines unveiled special
agent rates and packages for travel May 1 to 31. The $99 rate
includes roundtrip air from American's U.S. gateways to Curacao and
a hotel stay of three or more nights. The fare for a companion
accompanying an agent is $199. To book, agents should contact
American's San Juan Reservations Dept. at (787) 791-3939 and refer
to Starfile Curacao 03.
• Viva Resorts' six inclusive properties in the Bahamas, Dominican
Republic and Mexico offer agent rates from $42 per person, per
night, double from April 20 to Aug. 20. Agents must present a valid
IATAN or ARC number at time of booking. Viva continues to pay 12%
commission to agents on bookings made through the reservations
number at (800) 898-9968 or via e-mail at [email protected].