Crunch Time in Paradise
A series of challenges arose during an important two-week event in Jamaica, forcing the planner and resort management to quickly devise a solution.
By Hunter Holcombe
IN TANDEM WITH ITS NATURAL CARIBBEAN-ISLAND BEAUTY, Jamaica has a reputation for being, well…a relaxing kind of place. Mellow might be a more apropos term—describing everything from the music, culture and people to the sultry warm breeze stirring the palms at sunset. Bob Marley may have put a face and a sound to the soul of this laid-back paradise, but it only takes an hour of strolling along the beaches of Negril or through downtown Montego Bay before the spell of the island takes hold, an invisible pair of hands coaxing stress from your shoulders.
As president of Traverse City, Mich.-based VIKTOR Incentives & Meetings, Mark Bondy well understands this magic. He has brought several high-end corporate groups to Jamaica over the years, but he wasn’t feeling terribly relaxed in January 2008, when a series of challenges arose during an important two-week event, forcing him to meet with the resort management and devise an impromptu solution.
Bondy was bringing in 800 clients for a corporate incentive program at the Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa in two waves of 400. Each would have the resort to themselves for seven days, the second group checking in as the first checked out. Shortly before Bondy arrived, however, the resort’s water boiler blew up, and it could not be replaced in time. As the guests trickled in, it became evident that the housekeeping team would not be able to launder sheets and turn over rooms as usual.
“We had guests arriving at the hotel, and many of them had to wait quite a while until their rooms were ready,” Bondy said.
It was not an ideal start to a weeklong incentive trip but, even before the last members of the group finally checked in, Bondy was worrying about Group 2. If it was this difficult to set rooms for the first group, it would be even more challenging to complete a full turnaround of every single room at the resort simultaneously. So, while guests settled into a week of beach-lounging, water recreation and rum cocktails, Bondy assembled the hotel management staff for a brainstorming session on how to mitigate the problem from every possible angle.
Because of quick and attentive action by staff in the country’s resort hotels, Bondy’s experiences with Jamaica have been largely positive. But he acknowledges that some planners and company leaders are wary of bringing meetings here, mainly due to misperception.
“Don’t assume service levels are low or there is a mañana attitude, because that is not the case, at least at the Grand Lido Negril and the other hotels we have used,” he said. “In fact, the Jamaican people treat you like family, with genuine respect, courteousness and care.”
Then again, Bondy has the advantage of knowing the island. He chose Negril for this specific event because it is more reclusive than other parts of the island, something these particular clients appreciated.
“Negril is much more laid back than the hustle and bustle of Montego Bay,” he said. “The shopping is more limited than Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, but for most people, the selection is wide enough to accommodate a day or two of shopping.”
For larger events, however, and for those seeking more cultural exposure, the major resort centers of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios are better options, with more event space and greater hotel blocks. Montego Bay, in fact, is halfway through constructing a new convention center with more than 80,000 square feet of total meeting space.
Overall, Jamaica is recognized for its outdoor recreation, from water-based activities such as snorkeling, jet skiing and swimming with dolphins to lush jungle pursuits such as zip-lining, horseback riding or hiking waterfall-lined trails. The island is also noted for its significant biodiversity, with a large number of endemic flora and fauna.
“What sets Jamaica apart and makes it special is the wide variety of resort areas, accommodations, land and water sports and attractions to be found on an island just 144 miles long and 51 miles wide,” said Donnie Dawson, deputy director of tourism of the Jamaica Tourist Board. “And the warm and friendly Jamaican hospitality.”
Aside from what the physical island offers, many visitors are also drawn to the distinct and colorful Jamaican culture, from tasty jerk-spice barbeques and amateur cricket games to the unique blend of ethnic influences and its role as the origin of reggae music.
Jamaica’s motto, “Out of Many, One People,” describes this multicultural and ethnic mix of people who make up the island’s population, Dawson says. Out of this comes a people with a culture and lifestyle uniquely their own.
Bondy understood that the appeal, coupled with high-level resorts, could result in the ideal Caribbean meeting experience. But before he could set his clients free to enjoy Jamaica, he had to figure out how to get them into their rooms. Fortunately, Bondy had worked closely with the resort’s management before, and knew he would have creative and flexible partners on his side. Together, they looked at every angle that could affect room turnover and check-in: airport transportation, use of the airport lounge, luggage delivery, coordination and communication of housekeeping, tracking and monitoring guest arrivals, linen count and using external cleaning resources.
“We jointly identified the need to alter some procedures,” Bondy said. “It was this hands-on involvement [by resort staff] that made it much easier to solve the operational issues we encountered.”
By the time the critical turnover day arrived, they had put into place the following strategy: The resort placed 100 percent of their bellmen on duty for the day and borrowed additional housekeeping staff from their sister property in Montego Bay. If a significant delay was expected, the airport lounge would be available for guests to avoid a backup in the hotel lobby, and they developed a guest-arrival tracking system that ensured no individual would wait more than 30 minutes. Most importantly, they mitigated the water-boiler issue by purchasing and borrowing additional linens so that they had a full set already pressed and ready for room turnover.
Not surprisingly, the day was an overwhelming success.
“It worked like a charm,” Bondy said. “If anything, this check-in day went smoother than most.”
Bondy points out that this could have only happened at the right resort and with the right management.
“Whether you are operating a program at a small, service-oriented hotel or even a well-established, brand-name hotel with an excellent service reputation, it always pays off to never make assumptions, conduct a detailed pre-con establishing a true sense of teamwork and establish contingency plans wherever conceivable,” he said. “It became readily apparent that the entire resort staff did indeed follow [the general manager’s] lead, excelled at customer service, genuinely enjoyed their jobs and treated all guests warmly like they were friends or family.” One+
HUNTER HOLCOMBE writes about the meeting and event industry from his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
What’s New in Jamaica
• The Montego Bay Convention Centre broke ground in February. Scheduled for completion in early 2011, it will provide 50,000 square feet of exhibition space, 20,000 square feet of banquet space and an additional 11,000 square feet of meeting space. The facility will be located near the Rose Hall corridor, which has 3,760 of Montego Bay’s 11,000 guest rooms.
• The Palmyra, A Solis Resort and Spa, is slated to open in March in the Rose Hall region of Montego Bay. It will provide 13,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, 10,000 square feet outdoors, 299 guest rooms and a 30,000-square-foot spa. It will be adjacent to three golf courses.
• The twin properties of Secrets St. James Montego Bay and Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay will open in March. The all-suite, adult-only facilities will offer approximately 350 guest rooms, a full-service spa and access to nearby golf courses.
Transportation Tip
• Jamaica has two international airports, in Kingston (Norman Manley International Airport) and Montego Bay (Sangster International Airport), as well as small airports in Ocho Rios and Negril. On land, there are a variety of options for getting around. Licensed tourist taxis are readily available, and the drivers will be more than welcoming as you step out of the airport, though prices are based on haggling skills. There are also the much cheaper local “route” taxis, which drive generally established routes between towns, as well as public buses. For group transportation, the best option is to hire one of the island’s several tour bus companies, which are licensed with the Jamaica Tourist Board.
Fun Facts
• Jamaica is home to more than 252 bird species, 27 of which are found exclusively on the island.
• Jamaica was the first country in the Western world to construct a railway—even before the U.S., and only 18 years after England.
• Jamaica ranks third for greatest number of Miss World titles.