Bay Gardens Resorts

8 Business View Caribbean “The hotel sector is the agricultural sector’s most prof- itable customer,” Destang continues. “We pay more, pound for pound, than any other sector – private con- sumers and the supermarket chains – and we need a lot. And we’re still importing a tremendous amount. So, our current project is focused on creating a virtual agricultural clearing house that allows the farmers to know what the hotels need and the hotels to know what the farmers have.” Within the first 24 hours of the clearing house’s ex- istence, Destang reports that Bay Gardens was able to free itself from having to import pineapples any more. “Because we were put in touch with a pineapple farmer we didn’t even know existed and was producing seven times what we need. So we’re already seeing that begin to bear fruit, no pun intended, and we’re very happy with the results of that.” He believes that the program will benefit the island’s entire economy – local farmers will sell more produce and hotels will be better able to source local food that’s fresher and organically grown, as well. Finally, Destang talks about the Resort’s Dine-Around Program – yet another service that the hotel offers, both for its own benefit, as well as for its eight restau- rant partners. “We’re not an all-inclusive property and people often don’t want to go all-inclusive in a location like Rodney Bay where there are 40 or 50 dining op- tions within walking distance,” he says. “But we have noticed that people are looking for an all-inclusive op- tion more and more; it’s a common request because people want certainty in what they pay. We’ve always had an all-inclusive plan, but it hasn’t sold very well. What allowed it to finally take off this year and increase by some 700 percent in terms of volume, was the ad- dition of a Dine-Around Program, whereby people who book all-inclusive are actually able to dine at other res- taurants in Rodney Bay, outside of the hotel. “So, you book seven nights, and you get to dine out three nights. It’s really just a different model of all-in-