The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The $3.5 billion Baha Mar project should not be viewed as the “great white knight” cure for all the Bahamas’ economic ills, a leading private sector executive says, arguing that meeting guest expectations - not an opening date - should be its priority.

Gowon Bowe, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chairman, told Tribune Business that Baha Mar would suffer more from having a half-finished product that left guests dissatisfied than failing to open all its resorts this Friday.

Suggesting that the developer’s primary focus had to be on “getting the quality right”, Mr Bowe added that it was also unfair for Bahamians to view the project as the sole answer to many of this nation’s deeply-rooted, structural economic problems.

“It’s not going to be the panacea that carries this nation and sees unemployment go down from 15.7 per cent to 9.5 per cent,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business.

“The number of people that it [Baha Mar] is going to take on is going to be matched by the number of school leavers coming out.”

He then added: “It’s not going to take us from a fiscal deficit to a fiscal surplus in the first three months of operation. It’s not going to change the fiscal outlook whether it opens on March 27 or June 1. It’s going to impact the economy for years to come.’

Mr Bowe is essentially arguing that Bahamian should focus on Baha Mar’s long-term economic and employment impact, and not get ‘hung up’ on the fact the project has now effectively missed two promised opening dates.

“I just think people are getting overly excited,” he told Tribune Business. “I think by them moving from December to March, and then to June, it’s giving the impression of challenges and problems.”

Pointing out that Baha Mar was an especially large resort development, Mr Bowe emphasised that numerous real estate-related construction projects - all of which were smaller in value and scope - suffered cost overruns and time delays.

“It’s not going to come in a big bang moment,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business. “Their principal objective has to be customer satisfaction.

“We really need to give them time and space to get things done, and I don’t think it’s beneficial and helpful to be criticising them for missing one opening date or another.”

The BCCEC chairman, too, added that the non-opening of Baha Mar’s three branded hotels this Friday could be a ‘blessing in disguise’, as it will give this nation more time to put in key supporting components, such as an extra 400,000 airlift seats.

Tribune Business reported last week that none of Baha Mar’s three branded resorts will open fully before May, with only part of the 1,000-room casino hotel set to open on March 27.

Robert Sands, Baha Mar;’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, subsequently confirmed the accuracy of Tribune Business’s article, stating that the “casino, resort core amenities, entertainment and recreation areas” - including the Beach Sanctuary and golf course - will be open on March 27.

He added that the Baha Mar Casino and Hotel will also be open this Friday, although it is likely to be some way short of its 1,000-room capacity.

The “public spaces” at SLS LUX at Baha Mar, Rosewood at Baha Mar and Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar will be open on March 27, Mr Sands added, with hotel rooms to “come online shortly after”.

“We are on track to have all additional areas open by our grand opening celebration in May,” he said.

Rosewood also confirmed that its hotel was starting to take reservations from May 7, 2015, “immediately after” Baha Mar’s opening. SLS is taking reservations from April 28.

Yet there is a feeling that Baha Mar has effectively ‘hoisted itself by its own petard’ by setting several different, specific opening dates, several of which it has failed to meet.

The original opening date for the project was December 1, 2014. This was then pushed back to March 27, with the three resort brands supposed to start “hosting paid guests” at this time. This deadline, too, has now been missed.

Mr Bowe contrasted this approach with that of the Holiday Inn (former Nassau Palm) and Warwick Hotel, both of which have avoided being pinned down to specific opening dates for their revamped properties.

Baha Mar has also not helped its cause by being coy as to the project’s progress, and the reality, with both Bahamian and international media.

It was also warned by Morgans Hotel Management, operators of the Mondrian, which pulled out of participation in the Baha Mar project amid a furious legal battle, that the initial December 1 opening date was unrealistic.

Morgans said then that April 1 was a better target. But with that now being missed, the concern is that Baha Mar may have to pay financial penalties to its brand partners depending on the terms of their contracts.

Setting all that aside, Mr Bowe said: “This is still going to be fantastic for the country. It’s still going to have a positive impact, but by no means is it going to be the cure for our ills.

“We’ve been talking of it [Baha Mar] as that, but this is one element of a master plan for the economy to recover and the Government to strengthen.

“Let’s not treat them as a great white knight. These are persons trying to provide a quality product and quality resort that will be beneficial to the country, and let’s focus on supporting them and criticise them for not achieving a particular date.”