New trends have developed as travelers respond to the uncertainty the present global financial crisis has brought to travel. Consumers are more likely to postpone travel decisions, rather than cancel their decision to travel outright, according to delegates at the Marketplace St. Lucia event, the leading travel booking annual event of the Caribbean.
This is affecting all segments of the market. “What we are seeing is a trend towards late bookings,” confirms Leandro Cruz, director of sales for Casa de Campo. He says that at Marketplace companies were still taking reservations for the winter across the different market segments. Casa de Campo says the pinch is being felt in reservations for their villa accommodations.
Rachel Goldrick, brand marketer for Travel Counsellors in the UK says one of the new trends the global financial crisis has brought is that travelers, instead of booking six to nine months in advance, will book three months before travel time. She commented that tour operator bookings began to decline in 2007 when people began building their own packages and using the second homes of friends and family.
Zulma I Diaz of Normandie Hotel in Puerto Rico says the lull in the economy has brought back the rate wars. The late decisions for booking also means tour operators are pressuring properties to offer discounts, making these times when hotels need to get a grip on their own costs.
Could the time have come for real time inventory in hotel rooms? Hugh Riley, in charge of marketing at CHTA, explains that consumer behavior is behind it all, as consumers wait for that last minute price drop. “Booking windows are shrinking,” he says.
Willem Jonckheer, a Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association vice president, feels that Curacao is riding out the crisis based on its diversification. He says they saw occupancy levels of 80% thanks to the combination of having strong Venezuelan and South American markets in parallel to their European and North American clientele.
Jeff Malamut, president of Kingsway Tours out of Brooklyn, New York warned there were signs that now the Russian market may be softening. He explained that the lowering of petroleum prices would bring more problems for Russians, compared to those being experienced in the US.
Duane Kenny, general manager of a small boutique hotel in Tobago said the lull in US tourists was definitely hurting the market.
Bill Glegg, regional vice president for Choice Hotels International feels that the more upscale destinations have been more resilient. He says the company that always has marketed its non-all inclusive properties as good value, but now has gone ahead to offer a 20% discount to wade out the crisis days. However, their properties in Turks and Caicos and Cayman Islands are not feeling the downturn as much as their larger properties in Bahamas. On the contrary, he says they have gained when consumers have switched to their affordable properties so they can still afford to come down to their preferred beaches in those islands.
There is good news. Sally Parker, publisher for BMI Publications in the UK says the Caribbean could benefit from the decline in value of the British pound to the Euro. She says that a beer that cost 8-9 dollars now costs 12 dollars in Europe. “People will be put off with travel to Europe, and the Caribbean may become popular once again,” she commented. She observed, one undeniable fact. “The British will never stop traveling; weather is so terrible you have to go somewhere else.”