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| Roberto Paresce, General Manager of the Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach Resort |
Tourism has yet to take off in Grand Bahama. The average occupancy rates have averaged 56 percent over the past five years, compared to 71 percent in New Providence.
Yet one hotel in Grand Bahama keeps its rooms full: Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach.
The 276-room hotel – Grand Bahama’s only all-inclusive facility – sees occupancy rates soaring to 82 percent in the winter months.
General Manager Roberto Paresce, a good natured-Italian, says a key reason for the high rates is the good service offered at the “three-star superior” facility. One way he achieves this is by personally interviewing all perspective employees who will come in contact with guests.
“The thing that’s absolutely important is that employees who have contact with guests do in fact like people,” Paresce said. “You can teach a person how to give a dance class. You can’t teach the person how to like people.”
A veteran of the hospitality industry who spent years at Club Med, Paresce is a common sight at the sprawling 26-acre beachside resort. The tourists are mostly Americans, although there are large numbers of Europeans. Some of them, attracted by the family-oriented aspects of the resort, arrive on chartered flights. The facility is also frequented by local residents, who come to unwind for a few days at a time.
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| Aerial view of Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach Resort |
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| Lively entertainment at Resort for all ages. |
“We are the only all-inclusive hotel on the island and one of the only ‘inclusives’ in The Bahamas,” Paresce noted.
The Viva Wyndham brand emerged from an alliance in December 2003, between the Caribbean’s largest hotel brand, Dallas-based Wyndham International, Inc., and Italy’s Viva Resorts.
Started in 1997, Viva Resorts has through the years gone on to become, in their words, “one of the fastest growing all-inclusive resort and management operations, with eight properties in the Caribbean and Mexico.” Elaborating on its corporate culture, the company added: “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and this allows us to run a super operation with a fun attitude and esprit.”
Living on the resort property with his wife and their young sons, he favors shorts and casual shirts and talks easily with guests, whether they speak English, French, or Italian.
The resort’s rooms have ocean or garden views. There are two restaurants, three bars, a disco, gymnasium, tennis courts, and a large and varied activities program from archery, to dance classes, to sailing. Scuba diving also is offered at nearby sites. For night owls, brick-oven pizza is provided for much of the night.
The resort’s rooms will soon undergo a $2 million refurbishment, Paresce noted.
“I’m sure our guests will be pleased, including those who regularly return here,” he said. |
