Hoteliers promised improvements in sector by end of summer

Small hotel operators are pleading with Government to “dig deeper” and bring meaningful change to the sector, including making it easier to do business.

In response, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Senator Lisa Cummins has given the assurance that Government is committed to ironing out the issues facing the industry, and that by the end of this summer there should be significant progress to report.

Indicating that tourism was still “the number one area” of economic activity for the country, operator of Adulo Apartments Kashka Haynes, speaking directly to Minister Cummins during the annual general meeting of the Intimate Hotels of Barbados (IHB) on Wednesday at the Island Inn Hotel, said he believed the time for talking about the issues facing the sector was long past.

“There is a lot of talking all the time and I think we need to start acting so as we move forward we can have a really solid industry for the next 20 or 30 years, from which all of us will benefit,” he said.

“I am saying all of this because I love Barbados and I love the industry. I think it is the one area that we can compete in globally. The world owes us nothing and nobody cares if you are mired in poverty. We have to stop talking and we need to act and, Minister, I fully support the direction in which the Government is going but I think we all can dig deeper so that we can have more for all of us.”

Haynes identified several challenges relating to the ease of doing business and a lack of affordable financing options as major hindrances for operators in the sector.

He said while the Mia Mottley administration has been doing an “exceptional job in shaping the way forward”, industry players along with Government needed to better take advantage of “low-hanging fruits”.

Haynes expressed frustration at the length of time it takes for operators to get their licence renewal, describing the process as a laborious one that required the small hoteliers to split their teams to get all the required certificates that “take forever” to get.

“As soon as you get everything you are out of date again, and we have been talking about this forever and ever. This is something that we can control. I don’t know why I have to tell the Government, get a certificate to say, I am paying VAT and I am paying National Insurance when you guys have all that information in the system. I think we can do a lot better,” he said.

“We always talk about improving how we do business, the speed of business. I really feel that is an area we need to drill down on . . . . Focus on the things you can control, and what we can control in our industry between ourselves and the Government is certainly the speed of business and how we do things in our industry. We talk a lot about it, and Minister [Cummins], sorry to call on you all the time, but it is really difficult as a small business person to do business in Barbados,” Haynes complained.

The hotelier said the fact that the same issues were repeatedly raised over the years means that “either we are going nowhere or slipping back” when it comes to the advancement of the tourism sector.

“I think we are leaving some stuff on the table because we are not picking low-hanging fruits out there to be picked,” he said.

Haynes further called for an urgent relook at the Small Hotel Investment Fund (SHIF), as he argued that without access to “cheap capital” to assist the small hotel sector they would continue to “fight downhill all the way”.

Responding to the concerns, Senator Cummins said since joining the Ministry of Tourism she has been committed to bringing solutions, pointing to the involvement of the IHB on the board of the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. as one of the achievements so far.

She said this is soon to be followed by supporting legislation.

The Tourism Minister also indicated that a review of the SHIF was on the cards, but urged those who benefit from the Fund to repay their debts.

In relation to the licence renewal process, Cummins gave the commitment that a “complete reengineering” of that process has already started.

“We are also in the first phase of looking at how we treat to the tourism development concessions for example, and that legislation,” she added.

“I say all of that to say that it is my commitment to ensure that the processes are far more efficiently done, because time is money. But at the same time, the Prime Minister has made it clear that we all have the combination of rights and responsibilities . . . so once we make the system easier, it is your responsibility to use it responsibly and in the way in which it is intended.

“My hope is that by the end of summer, we should be in a position to have a completely new process in place that makes it easier for both the tourism development legislation as well as the provisions to be provided for under the licensing arrangement,” Minister Cummins promised.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb