Crane Resort not catering to parties despite ease in COVID-19 restrictions

Even as Government moves to lift key COVID-19 restrictions, a well-known hotelier has made it clear his property will be sticking to the current strict protocols.

Managing Director of the Crane Resort, Paul Doyle revealed that the cliffside St Philip property will not be catering to persons interested in “partying like it’s 2019”.

On Wednesday, health officials announced the resumption of fetes and large scale open-air social activities after almost a year of restrictions and bans. Weeks ago, they removed the requirement for vaccinated visitors to take a negative PCR test on arrival.

“I was just called a few minutes ago about the parties and events that we are allowed to do right now and my response to my staff is that I don’t think this is the year to bring people together and we are not marketing that way,” Doyle disclosed in an interview with Barbados TODAY.

“We are marketing that everything will be done from a very safe point of view and we feel very responsible for that. So, I think it’s how we deal with the protocols. We’re strict about it and people appreciate that,” the businessman added.

Doyle revealed that a once controversial vaccine ultimatum has evolved into an 82 per cent fully vaccinated staff complement, and unvaccinated employees are PCR tested on a weekly basis. And, very shortly, all incoming visitors will also be required to take a PCR test on arrival, in keeping with recommendations from the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP).

“I think there are probably two types of tourists,” Doyle told Barbados TODAY.

“There’s tourists that are looking to party like it’s 2019 and there’s other tourists that recognise that there’s a worldwide pandemic and they don’t want to get sick or die, and want to be safe, and that’s more important than anything. My view is to try to market keeping people safe and do all of the right things. It’s a multifaceted approach and I think we’ll have a very good year.”

Public health officials in the United Kingdom, which is by far Barbados’ largest tourism market, are treating Omicron as “the most significant threat to public health”, citing the rapid spread of the virus.

When contacted on Thursday, BHTA Chairman Geoffrey Roach said there was no indication that the turmoil overseas would impact booking, but admitted there were some “expressions of concern” by some travellers.

He added that the adjusted protocols have triggered a clear increase in bookings, and stressed that both individuals and businesses had a duty to adhere to the protocols that remain.

“The persons who will travel for meetings and event things such as weddings, etc., now have the opportunity to have those types of events again under the oversight of the COVID-19 subcommittee and the regulations that have been put in place,” said Roach.

“So weddings were restricted to a limited number and, certainly, if you are going to be at events, I would expect that you could have a wedding with a larger number of attendees but still adhering to the required protocols.”

At the Crane, Doyle confirmed that bookings are “at a higher rate than we’ve ever booked before” due to pent up demand overseas.

The property, which was one of the first quarantine hotels with one of the only private testing laboratories on the island, has been detecting positive cases among staff almost weekly.

For the leading executive, this is further evidence of the need for safe zones, which, for The Crane, will soon require visitors to be PCR tested on arrival.

“I believe it would be a good idea to test visitors that are on the island, because last year when we were doing that, we were finding a large number of positive cases, and I’m thinking it would give the visitors a good feeling, because people, when they’re on vacation, want to make friends and talk with other people. I want to make a distinction on the [wristband] colour, so that people would know that these visitors are not only doubly vaccinated but they are also PCR tested after arrival,” he explained.

“I know there’s a lot of debate about it, but… whatever other concerns people may have, I think health and safety have to outweigh every other consideration. I’ve heard a lot of questionable arguments about why that should not be the case, but I am a firm believer that we have got to keep people safe.

“This Omicron variant is quite concerning. We hope for the best that it’s not going to be terribly serious, but when it’s spreading as fast as it is, anything that spreads that fast is serious, even if it’s a lot less dangerous per case,” the businessman concluded.  kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb