Sept / Oct 2016 | Business View Caribbean

66 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean Business View Caribbean - September 2016 67 us; we like them, they like us; we treat them well and they treat us well.” “And, of course, direct bookings are always great be- cause of the margin of profitability involved 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 will- ing to give us a commission contract for lower than 25 percent; and also, because they were linked with TripAdvisor. Being linked with TripAdvisor is extremely 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 TripAdvisor 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 personalized service offered at Chabil Mar, France relates that on its web- site, there is no immediate 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 con- tact 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 modern, not just in the interiors but on the exteri- ors, as well,” he says. “And so, what we are really very proud of is the architectural style of Chabil Mar; it’s lush with flowers and becomes intimate as a result. In the interiors are works by local 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 Premium Wine and Spirits - www.facebook.com/pre- miumwinesandspirits