MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Caribbean’s luxury hotels are seeing a rapid recovery in room rates with some even reporting higher average daily rates (ADR) than in 2019, which is being used as the industry yardstick.

The rates went down after the novel coronavirus hit in March 2020, and travel all but ceased as countries slammed their borders shut. Now, with the ongoing recovery, some hotel room prices are inching back up.

According to figures provided on Wednesday by Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA) Acting CEO and Director General Vanessa Ledesma, as of October 2021, the region’s ADR was US$193.31, up from US$165.34 in 2020.

CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig pointed to a faster recovery for some high-end properties.

“Some, I think, in the luxury segment, it’s been recovering quite fast. There are even some hotels that are reporting higher ADRs for 2022 than they had in 2019. For the middle of the road, middle-market, and maybe what we call the more budget end properties, recovery is a little slower,” she said on Wednesday during a briefing on the region’s prospects for the winter season which began that same day.

“We are seeing movement in the ADR and we are very… confident that that will continue to grow back to 2019 levels,” she added.

Acknowledging that recovery will “take a little while”, she spoke of the challenges still facing the sector which was shuttered for so long.

“Of course, we are up against the wall ourselves in terms of trying to build back revenue and come back to even breakeven point for many of our members; not even profitability. So it is one that we continue to watch, but definitely, we are seeing it trending in the right direction,” said the CHTA head.

The upcoming winter season will go a long way in the sector’s recovery. Madden-Greig described it as “excessively strong”.

“A lot of hotels have already closed out. We are seeing very good demand and I think it would be a very successful Christmas,” she said.

According to Ana Paradela, director, business development, LATAM, Caribbean, Media Solutions at Expedia, there is a voracious need for travel due to pandemic fatigue and the Caribbean has done a good job in putting safety protocols in place and being flexible. Properties that offer on- or near-site testing, for example, have an advantage. So, too, are countries that keep entry barriers low.

“Prior to the new variant news, it was going to be a record holiday period; we were seeing very strong demand. And I believe that we’ll continue to see that,” said Paradela.

In addition to mutations of the novel coronavirus, the continued success of the tourism sector will depend on factors such as travel guidelines and restrictions put in place by source markets. On Wednesday, Madden-Grieg urged the region’s major markets – the US, UK, and Canada— to “support jurisdictions experiencing difficulty achieving one- and two-day turnaround time for processing test results by reducing bottlenecks and uncertainty for travellers.” She also repeated a call for “members, airlines and tour operator partners to provide flexible cancellation rates policies”.

The CHTA president also urged regional governments to harmonise protocols, where possible, to “reduce uncertainty and confusion in our source markets”.

“We remain hopeful that the region can continue in its successful thrust to manage the delicate balance between health, safety, and rebuilding our travel and tourism industry. This is essential over the coming days and weeks as we anticipate an increase in travel for Caribbean nationals and the diaspora along with the high level of tourism-related travel, particularly over the holidays and the upcoming January to March travel period,” she said. “Travellers have recognised our good work in the Caribbean to date, as evidenced by our leading role globally in tourism recovery and in containing COVID-19.”