TRENDING
Mark Durliat , CEO and founder of
Grace Bay Resorts
Grace Bay Club in the Turks and Caicos
‘ THE BUILDING WAS SHAKING SHAKNG NG
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“ It was horrifying , knowing what was happening just outside and waiting for it to all be over . The building was shaking from the force of the winds ; I slept maybe half an hour that night ,” says Mark Durliat , CEO and founder of the luxury Grace Bay Resorts in Turks and Caicos , describing when Hurricane Irma made landfall on September 7 .
Durliat and about 214 other people – employees , their families and some guests – sheltered in the Grace Bay Club as Hurricane Irma whipped through . A little over two weeks later , Hurricane Maria hit the British territory .
Despite the fear and panic that came with living through such devastating hurricanes , Durliat says everyone was safe and unharmed and his hotels were relatively unscathed . There was no power or water for five days after Irma , but the hotels had generators and an ample supply of food and water . Palm trees snapped , power lines were downed and displaced sand “ made it look like there was snow everywhere ,” he adds . The hotels fully re-opened by October 1 .
Durliat attributes Turks and Caicos ' resilience to these events to several factors . First , the islands have a long-standing building code that requires the use of reinforced concrete with structured steel , which better withstand hurricane force winds . Second , the natural geography of these islands keeps them better protected from massive storm surges , which can result in the type of life-threatening flooding that Hurricane Harvey brought to Houston in August . Third , the privatized water and utility companies enable services to be restored quickly after natural disasters .
“ Even though we had blowing rain coming into some rooms through sliding glass doors and we needed to do minor repairs , we did pretty all right – although I kept asking myself if this storm was ever going to end . It just seemed to go on and on .”
San Juan , Puerto Rico , during a neartotal blackout after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20 .
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Getty Images in occupancy and room rates , Jordan says . “ The average consumer believes that the entire Caribbean was equally impacted by the recent hurricanes , and this is not at all an accurate assessment . There are 30 Caribbean nations , and only seven were severely affected by the recent storms ,” says Javier Coll , executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Apple Leisure Group , parent company of AMResorts . The brand operates 21 allinclusive resorts across the Caribbean .
One of the most glamorous properties on St . Barts – hard hit by Irma – the 34- unit , 5-star Eden Rock St . Barths , won ’ t reopen until summer 2018 , GM Fabrice Moizan says . This is true for the majority of hotels on the 9.7-square-mile destination , he adds .
LONG-TERM CHANGES “ I would anticipate building codes changing for hotels ; we have to build stronger for the future in a lot of these markets where tourism is the bread and butter business ,” HVS ’ Jordan notes . This includes the use of hurricane-proof windows and stronger and more durable building materials . Hotels also will take the opportunity to build more sustainably and become increasingly energyefficient , Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association ’ s Comito says .
Hotels that are well-insured will bounce back faster in the long run , PwC ’ s Berman says . “ Now is the moment in time to strategically fix whatever infrastructure that needed to be fixed anyway in different parts of the Caribbean , to make this region come back even stronger down the road ,” he says .
The insurance companies will have their say regarding what building codes should include , since claims are costly , RSR Partners ’ Fastiggi says . And insurance will be harder to obtain for hotels in impacted areas , notes Nalini Galbaransingh , executive director of the LeGrand Courlan Spa & Resort and Grafton Beach Resort ,
14 hotelsmag . com December 2017