December 2016 | Business View Caribbean

32 33 rentals,” says Gaetan Babin,Wyndham Reef’s Director since 2011.“People who are full owners have the opportunity to rent their units when they’re not on the island through our rental pools,”he explains,“and we have a dedicated sec- tion because we are primarily a vaca- tion ownership resort.Our main area of business is private, vacation ownership.” According to Babin, 90 percent of the resort’s members are American.“We are strong in Texas and the eastern seaboard–everything from NewYork, Boston, Chicago; we’re strong in Florida. The other ten percent is divided be- WYNDHAM REEF RESORT tween Canada and Europe,”he says. Babin was recruited by the resort’s owners, who, up until five years ago,were managing and marketing the property. Initially, they worked in tandemwith another club in Cancún,Mexico.They began to realize that the differences in resources and culture between Cancún and Caymanwere starkenough towarrant the hiring of someonewith experience in,and knowledge of,the Grand Cayman tourismmarketplace.And since coming on board, Babin has recognized,and then reacted to,what he characterizes amajor shift in that market. “The Baby Boomers,who used to be our number one consumer, have now shifted to the Millenni- als,”he declares.“The Millennials have actually passed Baby Boomers buying timeshare, in the last five years.The majority of our members are Baby Boomers, but they’re already sold,”he as- serts.“So, it’s a question of just servicing them and giving them value. But in order to grow,we need to attract new consumers.And, in order to do that,we’ve had to adapt very delicately, but, at the same time, in a very determined way.”