Comments

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  Patricia Borns September 2, 2010 at 9:21pm

  David raises an important question. How many Americans share or don't share his travel preference? For many years, the Caribbean was on an all-inclusive corporate hotel binge that erased its cultural distinctiveness, because that's what governments believed Americans wanted. Now, the talk is of small footprint boutique hotels and local rentals. To paraphrase Freud, what do Americans really want?
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  David Lawrence September 2, 2010 at 8:26pm

  Good Q, Northeast, 2 good answers. Also as an American, I don't want to stay at a Hyatt or Hilton, especially in another country. Would we go all the way to Japan to stay at a dude ranch?
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  Tony King September 2, 2010 at 6:16pm

  Just to add another thought to Patricia's, there is a tendency to forget that much of the Caribbean i.e. St. Martin, St. Barth, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Cuba, St. Vincent, the Grenadines caters almost exclusively to European visitors who do not visit the Ritz Carlton's, Hyatt's and Hilton's of this world.
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  Patricia Borns September 2, 2010 at 4:59pm

  Are you referring to "U.S. Hotel Brands in the Caribbean: Over-Supplied or Under-Represented?" (www.hvs.com/Library/Articles/?cat=11). The data looks to be two years old, and the authors' main business is stimulating foreign investment. Not to discount their conclusions, but those two things raise cautionary flags for me.
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  Northeast News September 2, 2010 at 4:27pm

  U.S. HOTEL BRANDS IN THE CARIBBEAN:
  UNDERREPRESENTED OR UNDER DELIVERING:
  
  The largest hotel consultant in the Caribbean, MacLellan & Associates, reports:
  
  "A recent article by Parris Jordan and La Baik of HVS provided interesting data on the apparent low volume of US-branded hotels in the Caribbean, when compared to the hospitality scene in North America. The conclusion reached was that there may be an opportunity for significant growth by brands in the region in the near future."
  
  Is this, in fact, the right conclusion?
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  Tripatini August 27, 2010 at 6:24pm

  Please CLICK HERE to help a Tripatino with a question on a three Caribbean islands. Thanks!
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  David Lawrence August 25, 2010 at 1:25am

  I'm with Ed and Rebecca. Don't know what all the fuss is about.
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  Rebecca Thompson August 25, 2010 at 12:43am

  Answering Ed, both Barbados and Grenada are safe islands to visit in the Caribbean. I live in Grenada and have travelled many times alone in Barbados by hire car, just like Grenada I'll stop ask for directions safe and sound. My car broke down there in the middle of the night, I was travelling with a female friend. We had no probelm getting a 'push' from a chivalrous bus driver. Just take the normal precautions you would at home, don't leave your stuff lying around and lock up your car when you leave it. Otherwise in these 2 English speaking islands you'll make friends and feel at home.
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  Ed Wetschler August 24, 2010 at 6:46pm

  The Barbados hotel-tourism association is campaigning to ramp up safety and security in the tourism sector. Truth is, I've never viewed Barbados as a country where I needed to worry much about that sort of thing. Comments?
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  Tony King August 17, 2010 at 8:49pm

  Excellent question from Northeast News. I think all the islands would be affected, especially in this post-recession era - but perhaps not equally. I suppose it will also depend on whether the Cruise Ships will be allowed in or not. I think St. Thomas would be on the hurt list. Maybe overall vacation costs would come down too. Nice thought.