The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An Exuma resort’s top executive yesterday said post-COVID business levels gave it no choice but to terminate 40 staff, adding: “We couldn’t leave them in limbo.”

Dean Spychalla, Grand Isle Resort & Residences general manager, told Tribune Business that the “new normal” created by the pandemic’s fall-out meant the property did not require as many staff as in the past as it adjusts to anticipated future business levels.

Explaining that the resort could have waited until June 23 to sever the affected staff, all of whom are presently on temporary lay-off, as this is when the government’s emergency powers furlough ends, Mr Spychalla said activity had picked up sufficiently to give the workers what was due to them now.

Admitting that Grand Isle is “going out on a limb” to fund the severance and benefit payments, given that revenues and cash flow are still recovering, he told this newspaper: “Unfortunately we’re not going to be able to staff at the level we were staffed prior to COVID-19.

“If we had the level of activity we had three years ago this would not be a discussion. It’s the new normal, and likely will be for quite some time. We don’t want to keep those people in limbo. They want their money, they need their money, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Grand Isle confirmed the terminations in a statement on Friday after six furloughed workers protested at the resort’s entrance seeking their termination packages and other benefits. Mr Spychalla praised the way the protest was carried out, describing those involved as “respectful” and “very civil”.

He added that Grand Isle’s closure due to COVID-19 lockdowns, and subsequent operational and travel restrictions, meant that like many businesses it was a struggle to come up with funds for severance packages after being starved of cash flows and revenues over the past year

“Cash flow kind of determined when we could do this..... Now we’re open and have a couple of dollars coming in maybe we have the money to do that when in the past we did not. It’s not like we extended this [furlough] to hurt anyone. There was nothing in the coffers to be able to do that prior to now. We’re going out on a limb to do it from a cash flow point of view,” Mr Spychalla said. “We’re doing what we can at this time.”

He added that staff member presently working at Grand Isle “is going to be terminated under any circumstances”, and added that the 78-unit condotel property will bring back other furloughed staff as business permits.

Tribune Business understands that the property went into the pandemic with 160-180 staff, although Mr Spychalla declined to provide numbers for the workforce’s size after the restructuring other than to day “the 40 are a good percentage of the people on furlough”.

He added: “We’ll do what we can to bring as many people back as and when business activity picks up. Business activity determines staffing. Like everybody else I think that will be determined by herd immunity and the sooner most persons in the US are vaccinated because the US is 85-90 percent of our market.

“As soon as people feel comfortable enough to travel again we’ll probably return to that new normal. No one knows what that new normal will be. It will be better than it is now. We’re hoping for a good summer and that will be enough to get us through another slow season. There is some pent-up demand out there. It remains to be seen when it breaks.”

Grand Isle, in its statement, said: “In anticipation of the reopening of the tourism sector, in the throes of recovery from a year of severe financial challenges Grand Isle Resort & Residences has no choice but to restructure its business model.

“It is with regret that the restructuring includes the termination of some 40 team members, each of whom will be treated fairly and receive full payout packages in accordance with the Bahamas Employment Act. Grand Isle is committed to retaining as many team members as possible and remaining a preferred employer on the island.”