Despite a general slowdown in the Caribbean, it is the fastest growing region outside Asia for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, according to senior vice president Ezzat Coutry. New resorts are under construction on Rose Island in the Bahamas (fall 2011), St. Lucia (fall 2011) and Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic (fall 2011).
First up, however, is Molasses Reef, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve. It’s a 125-suite and 75-private villa property situated on a private island in Turks and Caicos, and is scheduled to open in spring 2009. Neighboring a wildlife sanctuary, it will be the first Caribbean project to carry the chain’s new Reserve brand, which focuses on boutique hotels in exotic destinations.
What’s going to be your biggest challenge with your Caribbean properties?
It’s finding the right staff. You can always build a place. We have 36,000 employees around the world today and without them, none of it works.
What about in terms of marketing the region?
The Caribbean, for us, used to be Florida for U.S. travelers. It’s now changed. The Caribbean offers new opportunities to get out of the country, but it’s only one or two or three hours away from home. So, it’s really become a fabulous destination for us to get away. The demand for residential properties has also helped stimulate our development. Every project we build today has a residential or fractional component to it.
Caribbean tourism has been flat in recent years; what about your resorts?
They’ve been doing extremely well. We are in the luxury segment and I think the luxury traveler tends to be a little immune from some of the economics the rest of the world experiences. We’ve really seen great growth and we wouldn’t be building what we’re doing unless they’re doing very well.
What would you like to see the region do to grow the business?
Infrastructure is always a challenge — airports, especially. Airlift has not really grown as much as we would like to see to support the demand. The region has been restricted somewhat by airports and airlift. So, I think, if there is anything that can be approved, [I wonder] how can we get airlines and governments to agree with that.
Have you done anything in particular to tweak your marketing and brand to the Caribbean?
The fractional side also has been good for us. But really, our Reserves are the new opportunity for us.
