By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

INVESTORS behind Abaco’s Hope Town Lodge are hoping to make the boutique resort “a go-to” island destination for Bahamians, the group’s chairman telling Tribune Business, “I would like see us running at 80 or 90 per cent all year around”.

Peter Andrews, chairman of The Bahamas Boutique Hotel Group Limited, which acquired the historic 25-room property for a “fair price” last August, said that the resort offered an intimate getaway experience.

“We would like the lodge to become a go to place for Bahamians. We had a big push during the Easter weekend and offered some discounted prices and put it out e-blasts. We probably rented 25 per cent more rooms because we attracted Bahamians to it. We feel that this is something Bahamians should consider when they think about what they want to do during a holiday weekend. If they want to take the kids off to one of the islands they can bring them to Hope Town,” said Mr Andrews.

“Being small and intimate is good. We don’t have the world wide exposure. It will come and one of the goals we have this summer is to work with our colleagues up there who are also in the business to see if we can bing a greater awareness to the Hope Town product and then people can select the lodgings depending on how much they want to spend,” Mr Andrews said.

Mr Andrews said that the resort was looking to grow on its occupancy levels which last month were 60 per cent. “That’s something to grow off. I would like to see us running at 80 or 90 per cent all year around,” said Mr Andrews. Mr Andrews said that the group has hired an architect to look at the overall “layout and flow” of the resort with some modifications expected in the future. “We’re assessing where we need to improve things. We’re having an architect look at the overall layout and flow of things. We have a very historic building that we don’t want to change the face of but we need to put it into a modern context. We are looking at menus constantly and style of service. The lodge is sort of the queen of the Hope Town properties, the one very one looks up to,” said Mr Andrews.

Mr Andrews said that the group had severed its relationship with UpSouth Hotels & Resorts -the previous operators- and had secured the services of veteran hotelier and former Lyford Cay Club managing director Paul Thompson to manage the resort until a long term manager was hired. “Paul ran the Lyford Cay Club for 25 years. He is great with people and he has a contract with us to help us and assist us in the hiring process for a permanent manager. We have titled him as our owners’ representative.”