Cruise ships are 'wiping out' mid-size hotels but there's reason for hope

Many bosses see the advent of a “new breed” of super cruise ships as part of the problem.

They say the cruise ship has replaced the medium-sized hotels and the “on-season” for guest houses has been eroded to just three months in the summer.

Chris Wardman, assistant manager at Coral Beach, said smaller hoteliers were living in “pressing times”.

He added: “The drop in trade is noticeable and I know we are not the only ones to be experiencing it.

“A big problem for the smaller hotels and guest houses is general maintenance and paying for it when we are just not getting the rooms filled.

“But I am firm believer that Bermuda will heal itself. We have seen periods of decline before and it can always be revived.

“A lot of the problem has to do with air fares – they are just too high in my opinion. We have changed our rates until the end of April to encourage people to come and stay.

“I do not think it helps when the Premier describes the industry as ‘anaemic’ – I get a sense that the government want us to be self sufficient but they are our back bone.

“The cruise ships we get in now have changed the industry. We used to get ships come in when passengers would stay here — but the ones that come in now do not really support the local economy.

“We used to design our week around their arrival and do Swizzle Nights. It’s a totally different class of people now.”

The owner of a medium sized hotel on South shore, who asked not to be named, said that although the last three months had been “disastrous” he was hopeful that it would turn around in the summer.

He said: “The spring has been very disappointing but having said that the summer looks quite hopeful. Farmers Insurance have booked up the Southampton Princess for around seven weeks and that is great news for the other businesses.

“January, February and March have been pretty disastrous. Part of the problem is that the airlift is so low — the planes that are coming in are tiny compared to some of the old aircraft that used to bring people in from the States.

“But these days it is a case of making hay while the sun shines. Our season is getting smaller and smaller.

“I feel like an ice cream seller — our season has become three to four months – it used to be a 10 month season but it has been slowly eroded.

“The phones are not ringing and the rooms are empty. There is a complete lack of demand. I believe the industry is sustainable — some hotels will survive — but there will be even fewer and that weeding out process is difficult.

“The cruise ship schedule needs to be revisited – it is way off. The ships we get in at the moment are just wiping out the medium sized hotels.”

Meanwhile, some guesthouses in Hamilton have managed to enjoy a steady stream of custom thanks to business visitors.

Neal Stephens, owner and manager of Rosemont Suites in Hamilton, is cautiously optimistic that an up-turn is around the corner. He said: “We are slightly different because we are in Hamilton. A lot of our trade is business and that is still there. Over the last nine months or so we have seen things improve.

“The business custom is pretty consistent. If you had asked me a year ago I would say the last three months were the worst we had ever had but it’s better now.

“Our occupancy has been in the mid 70 per cent range for the first three months of this year. That compares to 50 per cent last year.

“Overall the general state of the industry is poor and ‘anemic’ is a fair description of how it is now.

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