46 July 2016 - 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-
