Submitted by Douglas
Finally, after many years of trying, Barbados’ tourism product will have the Sandals brand attached to it. Not just one but two properties; Sandals Couples at Casuarina and soon to come, Sandals Beaches at Heywoods. This year at the World Travel Awards’ 20th Caribbean and North American Gala, Sandals Resorts International won for the 20th consecutive time the title of the “Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand.” Imagine the benefits that the Barbados tourism product will derive from having the Sandals brand marketing and selling Barbados.
Internationally, the news of the opening of Sandals Couples at Casuarina and the planned opening of Sandals Beaches have not gone unnoticed but it is creating a positive stir in the travel markets. In fact, it is projected that the country will benefit from increased airlift from the UK with the opening of Sandals in Barbados. A check of the website for Sandals resorts Barbados would reveal that since accepting its first guest on November 6, 2013 the 280 room hotel is fully booked up to March 2014. This indeed is positive news for Barbados. There are also plans to quickly increase the number of restaurants at the hotel from 3 to possibly 9. Do I hear, “employment opportunities”?
This is certainly a sign that something positive is happening in Barbados. Our tourism industry has just been given a tremendous jolt that would no doubt result in growth in the sector.
Ministerial Statement (Minister of Tourism)
To read more: https://www.facebook.com/DLPBB http://www.dlpbarbados.org/site/of-sandals-and-scandals/
283 responses to “Of Sandals and Scandals”
Here is the BHTA’s response to the matter:
There are also plans to quickly increase the number of restaurants AT THE HOTEL from 3 to possibly 9. Do I hear, “employment opportunities”?
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And what do you understand from that. Imported goods, produced in house, packaged in house and sold in house.
Yes, the electric company, a few farmers and a FEW suppliers may benefit, but don’t you think Sandals buys provisions in bulk, only makes sense.
And there will be NO duty nor VAT on these sales?
And where are all of these package deals paid for, in Barbados or overseas?
Ha. Don’t count your chickens.
Two points:
Was Casurina not fully booked with Couples anyway ? I am sure it was
The one obvious parallel that hasn’t been drawn in this whole debate is the purchase of Almond Beach Club by Elite, they paid at least the same for ABC as SRI did for Casurina, are they getting the same concessions ?
Make no mistake about it SRI have invested $100m in Casurina and that is all they have agreed to invest and in my opinion and no intention of investing another cent.
‘The hotel sector is facing a shutdown resulting in an estimated 13,000 employees going home’. These headlines attributed to Sue Springer, EVP of the BHTA in Barbados Today.
It is difficult to imagine what more damage could be done to the industry through this ill-thought through granting of concessions to the Sandals group, while not producing any immediate increase in room stock, visitor arrivals or significant numbers of additional staff. Other than perhaps the quoted 100 to 150 work permits granted to SRI, which the MOT failed to clarify.
Already the concessions on the Casuarina property have come into effective, even before any sale has taken place or meaningful investment made. While at the same time we are told Sandals are discounting current rates by up to 40 per cent, clearly to disadvantage those tourism partners who have already invested hundreds of millions of dollars.
Is the MOF and MOT even aware of the damage caused?
Our course the tour operators and travel agents are happy, they are now able to buy a product at below the cost, that the vast majority of accommodation providers
need to sustain their operation.
Is this more of the same predatory pricing practised by GEMS, with Government help for more than a decade, all over again?
When we ask questions and seek clarification statements we are branded negative and unpatriotic. All the minister has to do is to call in to the talk shows and other programs and deal with the issues. By the way, has the PM been meeting with the BHTA on a periodic basis as he promised before the last general election?
blasted ticks
good mawning david. hope your day is as blessed as mine
govt must not let futile and clandestine attempts stifle and weaken their efforts as they move forward in a positive matter in restructuring the Tourism industry,.Instead of the cries of bellyaching coming from some who wasted much time and valuable resources at taxpayers expense over the years ,This ought to be be a time for soul searching by those looking and demanding a second bite at the apple , reflecting on those years of plenty and wondering what went wrong .
Exactly when are these 13,000 people slated to go home?Exactly when does SRI begin to harvest the windfall of concessions?Can such an obvious power play generate public support?
@Hamilton
Some valid questions are being asked, the concessions are targeted at the all inclusive model i.e. duties on food but what about the other significant area of the sector which is not all inclusive or the new entrant who does not want to invest in all inclusive. Bear in mind with the Sandals model most of the money will be made paid outside Barbados. Also note that Almond is missed because of the trikle down benefits to the fisher folk and other cottage type businesses in the area.
Who cares?
Many of these “Hotels” are only “Hotels” in name alone!!!
Its about time they get out of the Industry.
Government MUST press on. Those who want to be a part of the economic landscape will remain and those who don’t want to well, “Good riddance”. Their space will be taken up by others who want to come in and set up.
All for the good of the Country.
And before they go, I want the Government to make sure that they pay their share of the near $620million owed to the Treasury of Barbados.
If they don’t pay up seize they properties, don’t give them the opportunity to sell them first.
Look who is making the statement, Sue, a die hard, card carrying BLP member!
It is not our fault that the Hoteliers sunk all their money into the Barbados Labour Party Election campaign.
Now that the wise voting public has returned the Barbados Labour Party to the Opposition benches, there will be no return on their investment in the Barbados Labour Party.
The thought of a half billion dollar giveaway so that they might reimburse them selves and their families, that promise can not now be kept by the Barbados Labour Party.
All they have to do is to move on. Chalk it up to backing the wrong horse. It happens at race day at the Garrison Savannah all the time.
What a bunch of whiners, for years these people have taken, taken and taken money much of which never makes it to these shores and idiots like Gordon Seale buy homes in Portugal with money that should be being used to keep their properties to the grade that is expected of them, the joker Wayne Capaldi should go back to tiling he wants concessions while getting ready push down Sandpiper to build condos, a total pack of jokers.
The hotel plant in Barbados is tired has been tired for years but these same hoteliers who own these properties refuse to bring the proceeds of the rooms to these shores but rather live an extravagant lifestyle in places like Portugal and London meanwhile with hands out stretched and begging for govt handouts.
They complained when there were no new hotels names coming to Barbados well the whiners complain now we have a world recognised brand in Sandals who is here for the first time with clean and rooms that make the grade for the standard, we have new advertising and new offerings, get with program Sue Springer and take off you BLP Blinkers.
Carson. Are you really serious? Convert the 13,000 workers who might go home, and deal with the amount of guests who usually stay at these hotels and then give the answer to this silly question. Would Sandals be able to accommodate over 50,000 guests per month? Remember. 13,000 people will mean less taxes for the government – Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT. 13,000 people with purchasing power will affect businesses who will be looking to get sales in order to put more taxes in government coffers. The worst scenario will be government not getting a damn cent in VAT and Duty since we done give away massive concessions already. R U serious CCC?
Aren’t the Capaldi and Gordon Seale hotels competitive?
Sue Springer is trying to see which one of the ministers is the weakest link, one of the oldest tricks perpetrated by the minorities on the island……..in saying that, it’s Sealy’s own big mouth put him in that position.
David,
I am trying very hard to resist and not respond to the hypocrisy of some regular ‘contributors’ but frankly it is difficult, knowing the levels of misinformation they are
spreading. I think it might be time to remind everybody, by reposting the list of those WHO were the largest recipients of the current Governments TIRF (Tourism Industry Relief Fund) taxpayers monies. Before they are allowed to continually malign those who have made a substantial contribution to tourism without ANY benefit gained from hand-out funds, which in some cases have been used to pay their wages.
TELL ME WHY (and all the jokers)
LISTEN CAREFULLY.
The BHTA, I am talking about the members of it who are foolish not the sensible members, and Sue Springer can not try to BLACKMAIL the Government of Barbados which was elected by the people of Barbados.
The Political partisan ones who think that it is in their interest to do the bidding of the Barbados Labour Party and attempt to cause chaos and confusion in this country had better think again.
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COUNTRY HAS ALL THE TRUMP CARDS not them.
If they think that they will be allowed to SEND HOME 13,000 hard working BLACK sons and daughters of this fair country just so that they can practice Partisan Politics on behalf of the Barbados Labour Party I am sorry for them. They will not be allowed to make destitute, Bajans citizens.
The Hotel sector is indebted to every Government agency in Barbados. Any more talk about deliberately sending home 13,000 HARD WORKING BLACK BAJANS will be met by swift action to call in all the debts owed by the perpetrators who are calling for the implementation this heinous plan. And if they can not pay then taken to court to get injunctions to seize their properties both personal and professional. Their BMWs, Mercedes Benzs, Homes, 50inch flat screen TVs, their Yachts in the Careenage, Hotel plant etc. They will not be allowed to bring down this Government which was voted into to office by the wise voting public of Barbados.
This is not like the last time, lightning does not strike the same place twice. The Democratic Labour Party has learned its lesson well, just remember that. Tell Sue that. The Government will execute pre emptive strikes against the ring leaders. The BLACK HOTEL WORKERS of Barbados will not be made pawns in partisan political game which she wants to play.
There is no way that the disgruntled Hoteliers, notice that I said disgruntled, can harm this Government and not mortally injure themselves in the process.
Tread carefully!
This will not be like the last time.
Why are people whining and complaining about Sandals coming to Barbados. We wanted more international brand names coming to our shores. The plans are in the works to getting one, we complain and whine. We wanted the Tourism ministry to do more, when they do we still complain and whine. As a caller to Brasstacks said the hotels here have been getting the most concessions than all the other industries.
@Adrian
Will do, but we can anticipate the political yardies.
@Kevin
Can you read? The debate is about the level of concessions and if said concessions should be sector wide.
KEVIN
Don’t be fooled the debate is about SANDALS entering our market place.
Has nothing to do with concessions.
The BHTA, ADRIAN LOVERIDGE, the blog owner none of them want SANDALS HOTELS here in Barbados.
They want Barbados with its tired Hotel plant to remain a closed incestuous Hotel industry.
Carson. Do you read the amount of doo doo you write and then try to correct those statements. You said the following
– Its about time they get out of the Industry.
– “Good riddance”. Their space will be taken up by others who want to come in and set up.
– And before they go, I want the Government to make sure that they pay their share of the near $620million owed to the Treasury of Barbados.
– If they don’t pay up seize they properties, don’t give them the opportunity to sell them first.
Those are words of a Critical Confused Comedian, better known as CCC
A read of the press conference release the first thing which Sue Springer did on behalf of the membership of the BHTA was to welcome Sandals to Barbados. How can we swim against the current if key stakeholders continue to war? Who should demonstrate leadership?
TELL ME WHY
Is that all?
I thought you were trying to say something.
A search of BU blogs in the Archive show that both BU and an Adrian supported Beaches over Doyle and Jada, for the record.
There has got to be a more responsible way other than this obvious POWER PLAY to get government’s attention as it relates to their grievance.The union that uses strike action as a first resort usually strikes out.This is certainly not a step in the right direction.
This tantamount to economic blackmail whie shamelessly using employees as pawns in a ganme of one upmanship this should not be tolerated by the public and an alarm should be sounded that any engament of such sort or any of which would further depress country and impact the lives of our citizens negatively would not be tolerated. those who belive that pushing govt back against the wall is a soLution to our economy problems are sorely misled. the public would not be fooled
The BLACK BAJAN taxpaying public has carried the Barbados Hotel industry on its back for decades, and now BLACK HOTEL WORKERS are to be dumped by the said Hotel Industry in 13,000 loads.
That is the repayment BLACK PEOPLE in Barbados are being threatened with by some disgruntled Hoteliers.
But they can try it, it will be cat piss and pepper this time. The Government has a duty to the voters who voted them into office to defend them from these criminals.
When we have reached the stage where our salvation lies with foreigners and ‘minority-locals’ fighting over who should be controlling our livelihood, while highly “educated” Bajans tremble over keeping their jobs as book keepers and cooks, ….we have to wonder how EDUCATED we really are.
When after 80 years of being in the tourism business, and 60 years of expensive high quality “education”, we are not capable of developing a high quality brand of our own, but must beg, borrow and bribe self-serving foreigners to come to our aid…..
One HAS to question the quality of those who have led us to such a place….. going round and round in the desert of ignorance, while yardfowls fight each other over which set of brass bowls is less polished…..
Can we need any better hint that our whole education system is completely MISGUIDED and USELESS and SHOT?
If our education is so obviously useless in such a basic measure, what is the likelihood that we are actually “pluming wings for HIGHER flight?”…..Clearly ZERO….!
Our brass will soon be grass…..
@ Carson C. Cadogan | November 15, 2013 at 10:51 AM |
There you go again with your racist threats creating an atmosphere of White Hotel Owners / Managers versus Black Hotel Workers. We wonder which side of the fence white Butch Stewart would stand on the racist divide you are trying to erect?
In your schizophrenic zeal to project the DLP as pro-black workers you fail to see the validity of the argument being posited by the BHTA. Up to now you have not yet addressed the crux of the matter or justified why Sandals Casuarina- where less than $500 million in investment is planned- should be entitled to exemption from duties and taxes on all food, alcoholic drinks and beverages while the other hotels are not entitled to such concessions creating a massively unlevel business operational field.
Also in your ignorance on the same level of that of the MoT and MoF you fail to recognize the serious matter of your myopically thinking DLP administration could be exposing the Government (and themselves) to a slew of law suits under the Administrative Justice Act.
If you can show us a jurisdiction in which Sandals operate where it enjoys concessions on food and drinks at the expense and disadvantage of its competitors then we will listen to you and the irrational decisions of your misguided administration.
Instead of leveling threats against the hotel owners why not advise your stupid shortsighted ministers of the Crown to do the “rational” thing and make the concessions on food and drinks available to all to reduce the overall costs of operations in Barbados and make the collapsing industry more competitive vis-à-vis the rest of the Caribbean.
In addition to the 13,000 black hotel workers you should also be concerned about the many public sector workers will be kicked to the kerb and to be found queuing up in Collymore Rock early 2014
We shall soon see who will “win” this battle you are keen to engage in.
A moribund incompetent myopic DLP administration in charge of a rudderless ship of state or the voice of reason even if the credit rating agencies and the IMF have to drill it in the heads of the few remaining deck hands with an iota of commonsense?
Hamilton,
Frankly I believe it has a lot more to do with SURVIVAL than POWER PLAY. After 18 consecutive months of long stay visitor decline, which included many of the worse performing months experienced over the last 11 years, some hotels (and other tourism partners) are fighting for their very existence. Praying that the winter will save them from insolvency. You also have to understand the level of frustration within the industry, when the Sandals concessions can be brought into play within two weeks, while MANY critical policies that have been promised, in some cases for years, but simply not implemented.
Of course, many of us with our lifetimes investment in Barbados can just roll over and play dead, or we can speak up and hope to make a positive difference.
Take a few minutes and look at the Sandals Casuarina and Elegant Hotels Turtle Beach websites, the commercial advantages given to Sandals are already taking effect with predatory pricing.
I am not fooled. It is about the entry of Sandals in Barbados but more importantly under the DLP administration. If its was the BLP it would have been whoot whoot go Owen. (I am not a yardfowl, my first ever vote was for BLP).
On another note, various other businesses has had concessions e,g. Westmoreland. Even some types of offshore companies do not have to pay taxes here over a certain period. But we have to understand that once we get the investment and businesses up and running it would be great for our country. When theses businesses pay local salaries and expenses some of it goes to build up the foreign exchange.
@Kevin You are a clairvoyant now?
What concessions did Westmorland get?
Kevin
“If its was the BLP it would have been whoot whoot go Owen.”
I like that part!!!!!!
Good.
Miller
How is the brown nose today?
David
If you had the only hotel and possibly were the only company in Barbados who had a permit to import all foods and drinks duty free for 25 years for resale in the resturant setting don’t you think you would also seek to have 9 blasted resturants as well?
This pure f__king nonsense and the fact people are rejoicing about Sandals demonstrates the ignorance of Barbadians.
Can’t lower the blasted cost of living by reducing duties and taxes on food (a basic requirement) for average Barbadians but can give a Jamaican, a man who has demonstrated a contempt for Barbados, a permit to feed and drunken tourist with duty and tax free food and alcohol.
My mother used to say ‘never give the ignorant power’, something I now appreciate.
Hi David….Anthony Davis,just sent me his article on this issue and also sent it to BU.It shows an interesting slant on the priorities of this govt.,might be interesting to get comments on it.
ADRIAN LOVERIDGE
You have your little place up for sale at $9million and the other millions which you have on the Bank and if that represents SURVIVAL for you, then you barely making sport at the rest of us.
They are Black Bajans who will live and die five life times and will never see $9million.
But you are so poor, oh my goodness!!!!
@ David
I just going on what MOT said. Concessions are concessions.
I thought most people would be glad Sandals (investment in which we greatly need) is coming here. I just don’t understand the big fuss.
Carson,
Do these figures mean anything to you.?
04.06.2009 – $535,508.00
and
18.11.2009 – $307,714.96
Sorry to say but I doubt Butch Stuart’s intentions. He know Barbados is on its knees both economically and for leadership. Capitalist capitalize, its within their blood. You on this thread are placing all the easter eggs in Butch basket. You might get a
surprise
@Kevin
What is the level of Sandals investment? Do you know? What about the permits approved?
ADRIAN
It looks to me like money which was used to keep Bajans employed.
I could be wrong.
Carson,
which chosen few and did they include you?
Most people are happy about Sandals being here.it is only those who belive that they must make policy even though they have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to offer, than to use sabotage and hostilty as way of getting want they want. THE PUBLIC WOULD NOT BE FOOLED. moreover with the arrival of sandals the probabilty for more foreign investors is good opening the door and closing the gap left by those who believe their strategy of hostage taking would have work against govt.