President of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA), Alvin Jemmott, is congratulating the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) for successfully partnering with the American Automobile Association (AAA), also known as "Triple A".
The AAA ratings are being applied to the island's accommodation sector and so far more than 60 hotels have been assigned the famous diamond rating "I think it is admirable that the BTA has recognised that brand rating is the way to go. I also applaud the Authority's willingness to hand-hold hotels, especially financially," Jemmott said.
He added that the international rating will also enhance the competitiveness of Barbados' largest economic sector. "Having AAA offers our tourism product a consistent international rating standard. It brings a third party level of consistency and expertise to our standards and removes the self-examination. A lot of times hotels get all types of ratings, but with AAA which provides a rating on a consistent level of criteria, it helps to maintain the standard of the accommodation and builds credibility for Barbados as a quality destination," he noted.
Traditionally, Barbados' main source market has been the United Kingdom; however, Jemmott confessed that our second largest market, the United States, still has lots of untapped potential which the AAA can help Barbados to capture. "AAA is more recognised in the US and because we are hoping to grow that particular market, we must appeal to the sensitivity of that consumer. You know how the Americans are ... brand loyalty, you can't get away from it." Speaking from his office at the 133-room Divi Southwinds Hotel, where he holds the post of general manager, Jemmott explained why it was so important for Divi, a three-star property, to become AAA rated last year."I joined Divi in 2006 in November. A long time ago, Divi was one of Barbados' flagship hotels, but it fell off in the recent past. However, we felt that in order to reposition the property, it had to be aligned with accepted international standards."
Jemmott also testified that Divi Southwinds, which is predominately a timeshare property that straddles the vibrant St. Lawrence Gap, was already reaping the benefits of becoming affiliated with the AAA standards. "I can't proclaim the tangible benefits by way of revenue, but some of the people in the market that did not talk to us before, have started to talk to us now."
"Also, the AAA benchmarks also falls into our standard operational guidelines, which we hope in the long-term will translate into financial benefits. It is a part of our deliberate strategy to improve our market share, especially out of North America," the hotelier said. Jemmott explained such ratings are vital marketing tools that can change the fate of a property in today's global environment of business.
"Since the advent of the World Wide Web, competition has become brutal. People are able to share experiences at the click of a button. You have to be on top of our game. With so much choice in airlift, it creates an opportunity which brings competition. Then there are new and emerging markets such as Dubai, which are copying our brand, where people are visiting for the adventure. Do we roll over and play dead? No!"
"We must seek to offer a quality Caribbean holiday and have someone tell our AAA story and to continually set the standards for maintaining high ratings," he insisted. The industry-wide introduction of the AAA diamond rating joins the internationally accepted Zagat survey as the BTA's second effort to have the island For more information contact the Barbados Tourism Authority's quality assurance department at (246) 427-2623 or email geraldc@visitbarbados.org.
About Divi Southwinds Resorts Divi Resorts operates eight resorts on five Caribbean islands including the Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort & Casino in St. Croix; Divi Little Bay Beach Resort in St. Maarten; Divi Southwinds Beach Resort and Divi Heritage Beach Resort in Barbados |
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