The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

AN Abaco resort is investing about $200,000 in renovations during its seasonal closure as the property prepares for the upcoming winter tourism season amid weaker year-over-year room revenue and room nights sold.

Molly McIntosh, the Bluff House Beach Resort and Marina’s general manager, told Tribune Business the property is renovating its kitchen and pool deck ahead of its October 30 reopening, with the investment coming as tourism operators contend with reduced airlift, higher travel costs and the challenges of attracting visitors outside the traditional peak season.

“I will tell you that our year-over-year room revenue and room nights sold were both down, as they were collectively in all of Abaco. I don't know if there were any resorts that were not down, but we were all down,” she said.

Ms McIntosh said the withdrawal of Silver Airways had hurt the resort, with the anticipated replacement service from Bahamasair yet to materialise. She said visitors can still reach the island by chartering a plane or paying substantially higher air fares, but those options were not financially feasible for many guests.

“We've been hearing that Bahamasair was going to pick up that route, and it hasn't done it. And now they're talking about in 2027, so that has hurt us,” she added. “I mean, you can get here if you want to charter a plane or pay $900 a ticket, but that's not feasible for a lot of our guests.”

The Bluff House was also affected by changes to boating fees, Ms McIntosh said, with some visitors making decisions based on the higher charges before changes were implemented after the Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach boat shows.

She voiced hope that those changes will encourage boaters to return, but warned that additional airline fees are increasing the cost of reaching the Family Islands.

“So all of the ticket prices have gone up again. So we're just kind of thinking that, you know, maybe if the Government could relax some of the fees,” said Ms McIntosh. “I mean, the airlines are bringing people in to spend money here. I would think we want to encourage that, not discourage it.”

Beyond access and transportation costs, she said Abaco's tourism industry needs to find ways to extend its season, noting that business typically slows considerably outside the Christmas and New Year period, and the busier winter and summer months.

“We just need to extend our season. You know, we need a longer season,” Ms McIntosh said. “September and October are dead. Most places either close or have reduced hours because of the slow, you know, lack of business.”

She said the goal should be to attract visitors throughout the year, creating more consistent business for resorts and employment opportunities for residents. “We want people coming 12 months out of the year and give us all, you know, work all the time,” Ms McIntosh said.

Bluff House is preparing to re-open with a Halloween fly-in, when private pilots are expected to visit Green Turtle Cay for a costume party. Ms McIntosh said about 30 per cent of the resort's rooms remain available for the event.

The property plans to remain open through Labour Day next year, she said, while the renovations and other improvements are intended to support the resort's operations and service standards.

However, electricity costs and reliability remain additional concerns for tourism operators. Ms McIntosh said the resort's power bills had increased again during the latest billing period, while recent outages and fluctuations had affected operations and damaged equipment.

“We had trouble. It was what, about 10 days, two weeks ago? I think it was when, I mean, the power just kept going, you know, going off and coming back on and going off, and we had some damage, too. We had like brownouts and stuff where it really hurts the equipment,” she said.

Although electricity has been more stable in recent days, Ms McIntosh said she was concerned about the prospect of further interruptions when visitor numbers and demand on the grid increase during the spring and summer.

She added that recruiting workers remained a challenge, particularly when prospective employees could not find accommodation on the island.

Bluff House expects to nearly double its workforce as it expands its operations and places greater emphasis on guest service, she said. The resort has already increased staffing by about one-third and is building additional staff quarters.

“We're going to need probably close to double what we have as far as employees here,” said Ms McIntosh.

“And we can't find them. And if we can find them, we don't have anywhere for them to live.”

Ms McIntosh argued that greater government investment in the Family Islands, alongside measures to make travel more affordable and promote destinations such as Abaco, could help tourism businesses attract more visitors and generate greater economic returns.

“I just want some consideration given to the Out Islands and how much business they bring in, and the more that the Government invests in the Out Islands, particularly Abaco, the more money they're going to get back in that because we're going to get more business.

“And I think it's a good investment,” she said.