Ritz-Carlton having busiest summer ever

| 11/08/2014 | 0 Comments

(CNS Business): Last minute bookings and an increase in guests travelling from the southern states have plumped up the summer bookings at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, so much so that it looks as if 2014 will be the busiest year the resort has ever had. “We did not see it coming,” General Manager Marc Langevin told CNS Business. Back in June he was forecasting that business would be down a little bit this year but towards the last week of June things started to pick up and for the Fourth of July weekend all rooms were booked. “And the pace did not stop,” he said.

The first two weeks of August are pretty much full. “I thought that the business would die as usual by the third week and what I’m seeing is … they keep on coming!”

A lot of the bookings are last minute decisions and many of the guests are arriving from the southern states of Texas, Florida and Louisiana, and sometimes even further west from California. This, Langevin said, is a bit of a shift as usually most of their business comes from the northeast, from Chicago to New York.

The GM of the luxury resort believes people are choosing Grand Cayman because it is a very easy destination and one that is now able to define itself better. The product is very cohesive; people have a sense of well-being; it’s comfortable without being pretentious. Plus, he said, there is a sense of freedom and security – people can walk to restaurants and walk around at night and feel safe.

It might not be the most exotic island but the comfort factor is very valuable for visitors.

Langevin said the key element is having direct flight from critical US areas such as Dallas, Atlanta, Miami and Tampa, which is why it is so important that the government keeps focusing on ensuring that Cayman gets the support of the airlines and focusing on the airport.

“We cannot have a super luxury and comfortable destination but have a poor experience for the welcome and the fanfare – which is through the gates of the airport,” he noted.

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Category: Stay-over tourism, Tourism, Video

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