Earlier this month, Karin Salinas was appointed vice president of marketing at the Bahamas' $4.2 billion Baha Mar resort, which soft-opened its first phase for media and VIPs last week and was scheduled to start taking reservations for stays starting May 29 after more than two years of delays. Salinas joined Baha Mar after serving as director of sales and marketing for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts' Mexico region. (Rosewood parent Chow Tai Fook Enterprises reached an agreement to acquire the project last year.) Salinas spoke to senior editor Danny King last week prior to the opening festivities.
Q: What's opening for the soft opening?
Karin Salinas
A: We'll have between 300 and 800 Grand Hyatt rooms, the casino, the Espa spa, the fitness center, tennis facilities, the golf course, five retail stores and about 10 food and beverage outlets. Probably one of the coolest ones is a gastropub called the Swimming Pig. Getting draft beer on the islands isn't easy, but we'll have 24 beers on tap. It's a super hotel product from the Hyatt side. It has five pools, each of them with a very distinctive ambience and culinary offering.
Q: What's the longer-term plan for Baha Mar?
A: The resort will continue to transform itself for the next five to seven years. We've engaged [architect] David Rockwell to do the master planning of the entire development, including a private island a couple of miles off the coast. There will be new activities and new forms of entertainment. There will be an eco experience out on the island, more children's activities and an art center. All of these things are being developed right now.
Q: How do you plan to gain back the confidence of travel agents?
A: The best way we can gain trust and confidence is to [have them] experience the property. There is 12 to 14 years of history of this property, but our history only started last October. A lot of the vision is that of the original Baha Mar, but there are definitely some very guest-focused changes we have made and will continue to make to enhance that experience. We're bringing a very unique concept. We're a great destination, but we also will have three unique brands underneath it. This kind of experience and action has not really been offered on the island for a long time.
Q: What about those who had to cancel client bookings because of the delays?
A: Both Rosewood and Grand Hyatt did their very best to address the people who were affected. And we've done the best we could to compensate and take care of people. There are people who will believe they weren't compensated enough. We're taking a look at those people and offering compensation even though that wasn't part of our rodeo.
Q: When will Baha Mar start hosting travel agents?
A: They'll start visiting shortly after opening, about 10 days after. We're very confident they will have a great experience. That's why we're showcasing it so soon.
Q: Do you have concerns about whether airlift will be sufficient with such a large product coming online?
A: We're working with our airline partners to increase airlift. We're really focused on offering direct flights from the Midwest and Texas. We are ready to support some of this increased capacity and are offering incentives; our commitment is to the entire islands. We're working with JetBlue, United, American, Delta and Sun Country.
Q: How many people are working at the resort?
A: As of [April 14], we had 1,423 associates working at Baha Mar. We'll be over 1,600 as of opening day, and those are direct jobs. Once we're fully operational, we estimate about 6,000 direct jobs.
Q: What's the status of Melia Nassau Beach?
A: They will not be marketed under the Baha Mar umbrella at this stage, but they will be part of the portfolio at a later date.