Adrian Loveridge – Hotelier

So entirely contrary to all the heady rhetoric that the introduction of Sandals brand will drive additional airlift, from their closure on 1^st April for major renovations, in fact the exact opposite will happen. At least until the re-opening slated for December 2014. Quoting their own projected occupancy of an average of 85 per cent with a typical stay of 7 nights and two persons per room, that’s almost 500 lost airline seats per week or a mind boggling 16,000 plus by the end of this year.

Will this further destabilise the remaining carriers that continue to service Barbados and lead to yet more airlines cutting routes or reducing capacity?

Tour operators, already unable to match demand with the high cost of doing business here are considering switching flights to other destinations where they can glean a profit. Once again citizens are left speculating whether our Government was aware and factored in the almost nine months closure with hundreds of hospitality employees being thrown on the unemployment pile, before granting unilateral extraordinary concessions to the group.

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