The Adrian Loveridge Column – Offering Value for Money Across ALL Segments
Adrian Loveridge
French based hotel giant the Accor Group are now in advanced discussions to acquire 100 per cent of the Atlanta based luxury villa rental company, Travel Keys, who offer over 5,000 properties in more than 100 destinations in the Caribbean, United States, Europe, Asia and Africa including over 200 located on Barbados.
Accor currently operate over 3,700 hotels in 94 countries spread across a myriad of brands from budget, economy and climbing up luxury properties. Those brands include Ibis, Novotel, Sofitel, Pullman, Raffles and in our particular case, Fairmont, which is represented here by the Royal Pavilion.
According to a Travel Weekly media release ‘The combination of Travel Keys with onefinestay and Squarebreak will provide AccorHotels with a unique offering of about 8,500 addresses in the luxury private rental market, with highly curated properties in both the vacation and urban segments’. The final joining of the two companies is expected to happen in the second quarter of 2017 after customary due diligence.
It would appear that it is Accor’s way of covering every market possibility and client profile. They know that traditional hotel guests often graduate to more open and flexible types of accommodation, especially when they are on holiday -and they desperately want to hold onto the loyalty of their clients across every conceivable type of lodging options.
The present CEO of Travel Keys, Bobby Gibson, said on the announcement that ‘Our objective is to offer extraordinary experiences to our guests, i.e. the best homes in the best locations with the highest level of service. At the same time, we cater to extremely demanding hosts who find their unique assets mismatched to the mass market offerings found in emerging peer to peer marketplaces’.
Accor will obviously use their marketing expertise and vast resources to grown this segment and ultimately this will benefit the destination.
Our villa sector has grown into an enviable product offering and perhaps the only disappointment is that we do not see more co-operative promotional activities amongst our major local companies to highlight the variable choice and affordability within the various choices.
Go onto the Barbados section of the Travels Keys website (barbados.travelkeys.com) and among the 212 choices offered many of which are on a beach or near the beach, villas with two bedrooms and two bathrooms from US$275 and three bedrooms, three bathrooms from US$350 per night, depending on the month. For families especially, this appears to be a very reasonable alternative to comparable hotel accommodation and perhaps a great deal more could be done to get this point across, again in a working-together way.
After the record arrival numbers reported last year, the new CEO of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association recently stated that the start of the peak winter season has been disappointing for its members with both reduced occupancy and spend and ‘he isn’t expecting things to improve’.
With the end of critical high season already in sight, we have to ask the question again, how do we as a destination get across to all our major markets that we can offer value-for-money?
Barbados Underground 
Good! now you can also sell and be on your way! No more Problems unless they check for a Clear title of where you say you own?
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…..how do we as a destination get across to all our major markets that we can offer value-for-money?
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I am not sure we can until we get our roads fixed,our water problems solved,create an Agro-Eco-Tourism synergy,engender a feel good factor in the community,reduce the costs of our product,create new attractions and involve more of the locals in the ownership of the product.
Might be usefull to sort out line titles in Bim before the Beckles progeny claim all.
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Listened with great interest to the minister of tourism admitting that tourist bookings for the winter period -traditional a high period- has started out below expectation. Is this a reaction to the poo on the south coast maybe? Reduced airlift? What is the cause anyone?
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Value for money, you are getting tired you know when the US dollar rises brits and canadians feel the pinch, Same old same old Barbados is for old people and we are dying off or cant travel because of health, All my friends go to florida or arizona its cheaper i never hear barbados name anymore.
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The $US rises, so go to Fla and Ariz???? Ever heard of Mexico/DR/Costa Rica?
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Thanks for your advice- I got some very reasonable flights through Thomas Cook traveling to London through Manchester-the train fares from Manchester airport to London are almost the same as the plane fare from Barbados to Manchester- so I will get a pick up at Manchester and travel to Liverpool, Lime Street and on to London- the fare is 54 pounds one way.
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BU received info from an unknown source that Paul Doyle of the Crane Hotel is currently negotiating his unsold weeks with Hilton Grand Vacation Club.
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Charles Skeete,
You have discovered something about Britain: it is more expensive to travel from London to the provinces than it is to travel overseas. It is cheaper to travel to Barbados from Gatwick than it is to travel to Scotland from Gatwick. Madness.
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David,
It is not poo on the south coast, but poo in the minds of our economic and tourism planners. The pound has slumped since June 23, Brexit, and the worst is yet to come.
Household debt in Britain is rising, the only jobs are low-paid jobs; in other words, the UK market is under pressure.
Yet, for some reason, central bank projections and tourism officials all talk about an increase in the tourism market. They live in a fantasy world.
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Charles,
the secret is often in the timing. My wife travels this route (TC Barbados/Manchester) frequently and uses the train to reach North Essex. Manchester to Colchester one way for as little as GB Pounds 11.90 with an advance purchase ticket (up to three months ahead) and using a Railcard (from GB Pounds 30 or less a year) gives another 30 per cent off. If you travel to the UK often. Also think about using Thomas Cook one way to there and then buying a Virgin or British Airways return ticket in the UK which avoids the 17.5 per VAT charged on air travel purchased in Barbados.
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YOU GET THE GOV’T
YOU’VE CHOSEN
Some say the white man came from above oh oh!
That is if you believe that supernatural stuff. UFO
The locals treated him not like a beast
Like the three wise men from the East
Like how Columbus founded the West Indies
Then try to convert the poor Indians! Please!
When that failed they went buffalo butchering
Leaving the Red Indians starving and cowering
Coveting land from humble folks with their flags unfurled
Settling up their own towns and villages all over the world
But in their wake they left many in tears day after day
All over the good land which was never theirs any way
They maltreated many a people who cried long tears
Someone got to be punished for we know God cares
You can sing, and run and jump with all your might
For karma is bitter sweet when it comes back to bite
When some countries got their freedom
Their governments thought they’re dumb
They too tried to do like the Caucasians
Who maltreated the local Amerindians
They built cities and made kingdoms
Living it up drinking coke and rums
They lived the good life like the imperial master
As they too put the little man on the back- burner
As their own folks live in poverty
Amidst their masters’ proclivity
For years the people took it and did nothing
The doers willfully neglecting them sneering
The reapers of the ill gotten gains in their castles in a moat
You take it staying quiet for you don’t want to rock the boat
Tears have been shed every day many going insane
And someone has to pay, here comes karma again
Living the likes of a hog as they shed tears of joy
As they plot and scheme to carry out their ploy
Wives, mothers and children became high brows
Covered from head to toe as their belief allows
But the poor farmers keep toiling and trod on
Eking a miserable living to bring in the bacon
And months became years and fades
And decades ran into more decades
Until the people ran out of tears
They swear and shed their fears
Their anger reached every man, child and wife
For all they ask for is just to live a simple life
Their anger reached a pitch they want to get even
They were ready to face torture of even an AK47
The cry for freedom and democracy was in the air
And every man in South East Asia wanted a share
And so in Tunisia, one day in a little town called Tunis
Using a format called Facebook the locals found bliss
The folks sent messages to one another
Innocently talking and in serious chatter
When Muhammad Bouazizi, a farmer doused himself in kerosene
Which was seen all over the world to show his wrath of that mean
Ben Ali, dictator who lived like a hog for over 27 years
As unemployment grew, people die shedding long tears
All about their welfare and hardship in rage
Actually, bottom line they wanted a change
Citizens were called to silent arms and demanded democracy
Ben Ali trembled in his boots but stuck to his despotic policy
And when the smoke cleared the dictator was kicked out
The people rejoiced as they sang tears of joy and shout
As they pray and hope for a better tomorrow
But the fires were burning all the way to Cairo
Hundreds and thousands were alerted who care
And they all met at the famous Tahrir Square
And the words that went out were “We have taken up
Enough of this, we’ve to bring this nonsense to a stop”
The news spread like wildfire all the way to Benghazi
But was trampled by tanks, guns of an insane Hosnie
And Mubaruk refused to budge as the people persevere
Strengthened by the victory in Tunisia they didn’t care
T‘was do or die they made up their minds shouted out their demands
To oust Mubaruk after 30 years of stealing the wealth of their lands
Eventually he packed up his bags and left after 30years of conniving
As the Muslim Brotherhood stood silently on the sidelines watching
The fires had already spread to Libya a kettle of a different brand
Democracy was a word Muammar Gaddafi could never understand
As he dined with prostitutes in Cannes in Europe like a leech
At home he ruled with an iron hand banning even free speech
Bucket a guh a well everyday, one day
Eh battam guh lef my Nannie used to say
As Tripoli seethed and the people protested
As men women and children were slaughtered
Using jet fighters, tanks and mercenaries from Africa
As his own soldiers refused to kill their own in Libya
Hiding behind his high walls madly raving
With his two evil sons aiding and abetting
After 42 years of wallowing in the Libya’s troughs he can
He said he’d kill any opposer to the last woman and man
The world is shouting that this is a crime against humanity
But all words fell on the mad ears of a man bent on insanity
As the UN and the USA threatened and warned
That no more innocent Libyans should be harmed
Gaddafi answered by sending planes to shoot at oil rich
Brega
Threatening before he goes he’d burn the oil wells of
Libya
I said we get the Gov’t. we’ve chosen
Sometimes the voters are left frozen
And they have to put up and abide
Their time and flow with the tide
Cause they’re evil forces at work out there
And the innocent are cornered in dire fear
Like what happened in the 1960’s in Guyana
When the British stealthily agree with the USA
To stifle the PPP and oust Dr.Cheddi of Guyana
For they thought Guyana would be another Cuba
History has proved after 28 years Cheddi was not
But Burnham was and that was what Guyanese got
In Africa and Europe dictators arose
All eventually got the peoples’ blows
Those who don’t have it want it
But really can they handle it?
Democracy is what they want
They shouted give us in any slant
In the garage we want a good motor
An oven, a stove and the refrigerator
A detached home is so so
A townhouse or a condo
A job in the bank and money inside
No matter what they promise to abide
We see water it’s not a mirage
We also want a car in the garage.
Many times we have seen great incorporations
And the architects ending up in incarcerations
Look back in History with the great Mahatma
When he and Jinnah were fighting for one India
Jinnah caused India to split is a fact
He was the brains of the Luknow Pact
Jinnah never wanted an Independent India
He was too violent even rejected satyagraha
Every time Gandhi preached cooperation
It was met with the Lahore Resolution
The same thing happened in Guyana’s PPP
When the Muslims rejected the Jagan’s Party
In that case the CIA’s puppet Mr Langley
Gave Richard Ishmael $2.08M for perpetuating the 80 day strike
Also to the Muslims and the Trade Union Council and their like
The Muslims split the Indian vote and formed a PNC coalition
Joined with Burnham who later kicked them out in
jubilation
Greedy rulers from Stalin to Mussolini
From Ben Ali to Mubharak to Gaddafi
And the others in poor Africa
Even Burnham from Guyana
All have one common denominator
And that is the built in greedy factor
Their coffers are bare yet they spend much on war
Their people go hungry as the leaders dine on caviar
Even the educated started our good then made a mess
This shows greedy rulers can’t rule I have to confess
How can these so-called leaders sleep deep at night
When their people sleep with a bug infested plight
When they practice the opposite what’s preached in Mecca
Covering their women from head to toe sheltered by Sharia
Laws as they defile and use other women like play things
Paying top dollars for sexy women who party and sings
They pray 5 times per day pointing towards Mecca
As they bank the people’s money to be used later
At the Cayman Islands, Swiss or the country they all hate
Or just invested it in stocks and bonds and in real estate
Since the last time we spoke
Some thought it was a joke
Since then we saw the fall of the South East Asian Empire
A dire land of totalitarians and some secular pundits for hire
Tempered by monastic vows
Treating their women like cows
Governing wretched peoples yet who sneered and
applauded
Praying to their God when the Twin Towers fell and were
bombed
A people who always want the green US dollars
But funneled the money for domestic owned wars
And sat and took it decade after decades
As that part of the world became Hades
Fast forward to Toronto in Ontario, to live
With the Liberal Party vs the Conservative
You would never believe politicians can be so sick
One would surely think one is in a Banana Republic
Wasting and covering it up is the order of the day
And all the poor taxpayers don’t have a darn say
Billions of dollars wasted to save their party some seats
As erasing tapes and emails done secretly at their meets
The fists would fly and guns would be drawn
But all dumb Ontarians do is smile and yawn
But really you have to blame it on the naive lesbians
Pride has voted as a block maybe they got the billions
When the people put party before sound economics
It always come back to bite them where it ticks
Only time would tell in the next few years
But then it may be too late for long tears
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Thanks Adrian -would certainly bear that piece of advice in mind
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