By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A well-known Abaco resort yesterday said business volumes have picked up to a level that now exceeds pre-Dorian trade.

Molly McIntosh, the Bluff House Beach Resort and Marina’s owner, told Tribune Business that this year’s bookings have surpassed those from before the Category Five storm struck in September 2019.

“The business is back up,” she said. “We’re actually up from 2019. Our business is a little bit bigger than it was in 2019, and 2019 was the best year we ever had, until the hurricane. People are coming back. A lot of the tourists that hadn’t been here a while came this year.”

Despite this positive trend, the resort faces ongoing challenges with electricity and water supply. Ms McIntosh pointed out that recent power outages have caused significant issues for guests.

“We’ve got a lot of challenges, there’s no doubt,” she said. “The electricity is a challenge, having enough water supply is a challenge. Electricity, I think it’s a challenge all over the whole Bahamas. I don’t think that’s any different for me than it is for people that didn’t have the hurricane.”

Ms McIntosh acknowledged the work of BPL technicians but noted they are dealing with outdated infrastructure. “Recently it’s been pretty bad,” she added. “Up until recently, it’s not been too bad. I’m not complaining about the BPL guys, they work really hard. I think they’re just having to work with infrastructure that needs to be updated and upgraded and maintained, and that takes money.

“The actual people that are doing the work here on the ground are not the ones that decide where and how the money gets spent, or if there is any money spent. It’s been tough. The last week here has been terrible. The electricity is just off and on constantly, and it’s been tough. The guests have not been very happy with that.”

Ms McIntosh said the power outages lead to water supply issues, and suggested that the Water and Sewerage Corporation consider installing more generators at its plants to prevent these disruptions.

“Most of the water problem is when the electricity goes off,” she explained. “The pumps don’t work, and then we don’t get water. The water company maybe should have some generators so that they don’t go out of water when the power goes off.”

Ms McIntosh said staffing is another concern, as the majority of local apartment units are used for short-term rentals rather than affordable long-term housing. “Housing is a big problem. We can’t bring any staff in from any other islands because there’s no housing available that’s affordable,” she said.

“Everybody that has anything for rent, they want to do short-term rentals rather than longer term for people that want to come in and move here with their families and get a job at one of the resorts. The demand is here for more trained people, for better service, for higher end service, and then we can charge more, but we have to have the people to support our staff and have them learn stuff. We bring anyone in right now with the current situation.”

Ms McIntosh said Abaco would benefit from a government scheme that allows Bahamians to lease Crown Land on the condition they construct long-term rentals. “It would be great if the Government were to come up with ways to support a local Bahamian to building some long-term rentals,” she suggested.

“Maybe leasing them land and letting them build some long-term housing here, so that people could have a place to live if they wanted to come to work in one of the Out Islands. That way we would be better able to get some new staff that has some more training.

“If you get more people in here that are trained, the standards rise up to meet those. That’s what we’re struggling with. I can find somebody to come and work, but I can’t find anywhere for them to live.”

Ms McIntosh also pointed out the financial strain caused by high freight costs for importing goods to remote islands such as Green Turtle Cay, calling for tax concessions to ease these expenses.

“We would appreciate any support from the Government as far as any concessions to help us improve,” she said. “It’s tough with all the duty and freight because we’re on a little Out Island. You’ve got to consider all the freight that takes to get anything here, and it’s very, very expensive.”