As hoteliers across the Caribbean seek ways to rebound post COVID-19 – a set of innovative strategies and events are being rolled out with better prospects for catching in on the ‘tourist dollar’.
Bay Gardens Hotel, one of the leading local hotel chains on island has come out with a unique and refreshing concept entitled ‘Taste of the Bay’, which entices visitors and locals alike to savour some of the island’s best culinary dishes, all in one setting.
Executive Director of Bay Gardens Hotel chain, Sanovnik Destang recalled that about 10 years ago, the hospitality market was looking for “more all-inclusive products” and so, management embarked on a ‘Dine Around’ concept that incorporated partaking at some independent restaurants on island .
He said though the hotel is situated in the Rodney Bay area with lots of restaurants, Bay Gardens did not operate an all-inclusive service. But they were desirous of patronizing and supporting that sector.
Sensing that Bay Gardens with two restaurants at the hotel resort would not be able to offer the guest the luxury service of the large restaurants, Destang said, “Very quickly we realized that we had to renovate, we had to do something different”.
He admitted that it took lots of team work to initiate the concept, though the initiative had previously been taken on by another hotel on island.
“We knew if we had to take our Dine Around programme to a larger degree, we had to take it to another level … and introduce more restaurants into the programme,” explained Destang. “And we realised we would have to partner with a number of independent restaurants in Rodney Bay and that’s where the Dine Around programme was born.”
He noted that since the restructured ‘Dine Around’ concept began in 2016, “it’s been going strong ever since” with 10 restaurants participating, and “anyone who books our all-inclusive programme gets to dine at one of these ten restaurants twice a week.”
Said Destang: “Really and truly, what we created was an all-inclusive programme that was really all-inclusive. The traditional all-inclusive excludes people, ours includes everyone including the local independently owned restaurants …that have suffered as a result of the plethora of ‘all-inclusives’.”
He said the results were “incredible”. Prior to launching the Dine Around , Bay Gardens was doing about 5% all-inclusive , and they were now up to 40% with guests booking for all inclusive, and “the majority of them are on the Dine Around programme …and the amounts that they have spent on the Dine Around programme are not inconsequential,” noted Destang.
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, he said, though economically hard-pressed for business, several restaurants participated in the Dine Around. And for this, declared Destang, they must be commended for “being ready, being creative, and being available”.
He said coming out of the pandemic, in July, the Bay Gardens marketing team has been putting out suggestions. The team had stamped its signature offerings at events such as the Jazz Festival and Jounen Kweyol and were eager to find out “as to what we could do differently …and we decided to make November all about culinary.”
The Bay Gardens staple product from this venture resulted in the ‘Taste of the Bay Festival’, which has grown since it was initiated about two years ago.
The Bay Gardens team decided upon including the Dine Around partners into the Culinary Festival , “which soon became the Taste of the Bay Festival , which culminates on November 27 with a big food festival involving all our Dine Around partners,” Destang explained.
The hotel executive observed that not all segments within the hospitality sector are experiencing the same economic spinoffs at this time. He said some restaurants were the first to close and the last to reopen for business, and “they are still recouping losses and need help as well.”
He asserted: “This was really a challenge …to introduce them (guests) to local markets, and for those locals who have not dined out as yet, Taste of the Bay will give patrons an opportunity to do just that.”