February 2017 |Business View Caribbean

54 55 Chabil Mar Resort Belize contract with Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity, because we wanted to focus our attention and what monies we had available in our budget for marketing towards the agents and wholesalers who gave us great value. They understand us; we like them, they like us; we treat them well and they treat us well.” “And, of course, direct bookings are always great because of the margin of profitability in- volved in those types of bookings,” France adds. “So, I stopped using them, except for Bookings. com and Jetsetter. And the reason I kept them on was because they were willing to give us a commission contract for lower than 25 percent; and also, because they were linked with TripAd- visor. Being linked with TripAdvisor is extreme- ly important because TripAdvisor has a lot of influence on buying decisions in the tourism industry.When I’m on the property and I ask our guests how they found out about us, pretty close to a hundred percent of them mention Tri- pAdvisor in one way or another.We ask guests to write TripAdvisor reviews and we have a phenomenal TripAdvisor profile –98 percent of the people have given us a five-star rating. So, I needed one or two OTAs that were synced with TripAdvisor and Booking.com is one of those.” In another example of the type of person- alized service offered at Chabil Mar, France relates that on its website, there is no immedi- ate booking engine for guests to reserve villas, because the resort wants to talk with people, directly. “It just says, ‘Please send us your con- tact information through the website and we will contact you within 24 hours to discuss your objectives,” he relates. “The other reason is that when people come to Belize, they want to do a lot of touring, so it gives us the ability to work with them on a personal level to find out what their wants, needs, and wishes are.” France asserts that Chabil Mar is a property that has been designed and focused on everything that there is to celebrate about Belize. “Many new properties are very mod- ern, not just in the interiors but on the exteriors, as well,” he says. “And so, what we are really very proud of is the ar- chitectural style of Chabil Mar; it’s lush with flowers and be- comes intimate as a result. In the interiors are works by lo- cal artists and the furniture is made from Belizean wood.We have intentionally put plants on our property that come from all over the country and we actually brought soil from the western part of Belize where these plants grow to Chabil Mar, so when they were planted, they were planted in soil that would enhance their ability to grow. Chabil Mar is a statement and a celebration of all that is Belize.” Which is why Chabil Mar’s motto is: “Beauty by Belize, Luxury by Design.” Preferred vendor n Premium Wine and Spirits www.facebook.com/premiumwinesandspirits