The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

Room bookings for the traditional May start of The Bahamas’ summer boating season are “in the zeroes”, a Bimini marina operator revealed yesterday, backing concerns voiced by a government senator who is bidding to become the island’s MP.

Stephen Kappeler said Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina continues to suffer a decline in slip nights, which is also negatively impacting its food and beverage sales. “Remembering we're Bimini, and so what's happening in Bimini has to be happening at every other marina going forward,” he added. “There might be Staniel Cay or a couple standouts because I've heard like some in the Exumas haven't been hurt that bad.

“Because the slip nights are off renting, and we've had lower a rate as much as a dollar times every boat, times every foot, as you can imagine we had to run some two for one; stay one night, get the second night free. We're significantly down in our marina business.

“The marina business, what everybody needs to understand is what brings a room night. Most of these boats, if they have a sailboat they want to get off and sleep in a comfortable room and have real TV and what have you. When we don't get the dockage, we don't get the rooms. Then the food and beverage is impacted,” Mr Kappeler added.

“And so, like, maybe already to the month we're $50,000, $60,000…. that's a lot of meals that we’re off. Bar sales work something like, for every dollar you do in food… let's say you went to the Green Parrot and you spent $30, you probably would buy one $15 drink or two beers. So the bar is half off that number. It's just a multiplicity of down, down, down largely as a function of what's going on with the boating fees and fishing fees, and what they've done, which I know the Government is failing to recognize. 

“There's no way that they're 100 percent collecting everything they collected last year or more on a lot less boats. It just can't work. The streets are empty. The golf carts are parked. The Bahamian cash registers on the island are not ringing like they should. A lot of people are out of work, especially [because] Bimini [is] very, very small, like micro market, if you will. Ten families make up Bimini, but hey, we're optimistic.”

Referencing recent comments made by Senator Randy Rolle, who spoke in the Senate on Monday about the economic challenges that increased cruising permit fees have brought to Bimini, Mr Kappeler suggested the Government disclose how much revenue has been collected from this levy over the past six months.

“If they were to disclose the boating fees, collected against the same six months from the year before, and if they would disclose the number of persons that came in by boat, your answer is going to be right there,” he said. 

“And if Randy is the one saying, ‘Hey, you need to look at this matter. It's serious’ he is in the right. The ones that are saying, ‘Nothing is impacted. We're at 100 percent of our tax collection as far as where we were last year’, that can't be possible with these marinas missing these boaters, who are missing the room nights, who are missing the meals... It impacts every Bahamian at every entry level job. It’s a shame for Bimini, what's happening. 

“We're still going to do our Spring Break kids. There's the Spring Break kids at Resorts World. They're not here, but they're up the road. You're still going to get that kind of stuff, but Bimini Bay's marina is empty. There's been many pictures shown on these boating websites. Bimini Bay's Marina doesn't have anybody in it,” Mr Kappeler added.

“And I'm not saying that's today or this weekend. Maybe they had six boats, I don't know, but I bet I don't have six boats right now. And then we got fuel pricing that is going to add, which is nobody's fault. But that's not going to encourage more persons to travel, bear more expense to come over to The Bahamas, on top of all the fees.”

While business has seen better days, Mr Kappeler said he has retained all staff but added that Bimini Big Game, along with the wider island community that rely on incoming boaters, are feeling the pressure now that fewer are visiting the island.

“So it's very hard. And I'm just sad for my people, because I work hard every year to try to increase sales, increase VAT, increase Business Licence fees, and my people do better… I'm not able to do that, not with what they put on the marina resort hotels. It's difficult and my people are hurting. They want hours, and there's not enough guests or covers that makes sense to the hours. But we've retained everybody. We've not let anybody go. We've retained everybody,” Mr Kappeler said.

“…But when I look at May, because that's the start of the boating season, it's very, very scary. Rooms sold in the zeros and ones and fives, unless it's a group that came every year anyways… It's very scary to see those kind of numbers. Easter, we're not sold out for Easter. How can we not be sold out for Easter? 

“It might pick up. I'm hopeful. But it's difficult, and I have to say, set aside the American investor about a boat or a marina, I plead for the Bahamian people that work here, the Biminites that are here. They get impacted from all the little jobs that they get from the traffic, and now they don't get those jobs from the traffic and they're hurting.”

Mr Kappeler said fewer boaters will likely be attending the upcoming Palm Beach Boat Show.  “We've been at the Stuart boat show,” he said. “We're going to the Fort Lauderdale boat show. Now is the West Palm Beach boat show at the end of this month. I think there's fewer attendees going to the show because it costs to go do that.

“And it's sad that I'm hearing that there might be a fewer number of marinas. Our Marina Association has tried to boost together to say, get our act together, and let's be there anyways and be able to talk about The Bahamas. But it's not a good story, all the way down to the bottom line. And, you know, NIB went up a little bit here or there, right? And electricity has gone up a little bit. And it's just that there's; there's no relief.”