Business View CARIBBEAN
5
We also have commemorative gifts that we give incom-
ing guests who are celebrating or who have booked a
particular package.”
The property is these days home to 95 regular rooms,
six villa homes that are managed and serviced by the
resort and six additional exclusive vacation homes.
The employment staff is the island’s largest at 330,
and covers the hotel and its three affiliated restau-
rants, fitness center and tennis courts, in addition to
an assortment of water activities. Sanford said the
staffing level has remained “pretty steady” over the
years, thanks to a relative absence of seasonal hiring
that goes on at other properties.
Guest traffic swells from November through April – pro-
viding an occupancy rate of 78 to 82 percent in that
stretch – and Sanford said incentives are offered to lo-
cal residents and visitors from other Caribbean islands
to help boost the numbers in other months, which he
labeled as “pretty decent.”
Sixty percent of overall traffic comes from the U.S.,
primarily the Northeast region, Chicago, Los Angeles,
Texas and the Southeast. The United Kingdom is good
for about 20 percent of the overall number, with the
remaining 20 percent divvied up among Canada, Ger-
many, Italy, France and the Caribbean.
And when it comes to why they’re visiting, Sanford is
quick to provide a testimonial.
“We like to talk about the natural beauty of the British
Virgin Islands,” Sanford said. “It’s authentic. There’s
not a lot of commercialism. The BVI has 21 national
parks. There’s an assortment of plants, birds and ma-
rine life, and 59 square miles are made up of beautiful
rolling hills and isolated beaches.
