By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Atlantis last night confirmed its Coral Towers complex will “temporarily close” after August 17 for what union leaders suggested will be an eight-week period due to a “significant drop-off” in bookings.

Vaughn Roberts, the Paradise Island mega resort’s executive vice-president of administration and strategic initiatives, in an e-mail response to Tribune Business inquiries confirmed the move although he provided few other details while suggesting it was consistent with actions taken in prior years during the slower part of the tourism calendar. 

“Yes, the Coral Towers will temporarily close after August 17,” Mr Roberts said. “This is not unusual at all. For the past 20 years Atlantis has used this shoulder season to reduce some operations. This year, we will also finish some plumbing repairs which were suspended earlier due to high occupancies.”

His reply came after Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) president, disclosed to this newspaper that the union is “putting all the checks and balances in place” to “mitigate” any loss of income and financial fall-out that its members may suffer at a time when they will incur extra Back-to-School-related expenses.

While Mr Woods said it is unclear how many Atlantis workers may be impacted, it appears likely that several hundred at the very least will be affected. The union chief, confirming that the BHCAWU had already been notified by the mega resort of its plans, suggested the move has been prompted - at least in part - by US and global economic volatility that has caused a steeper-than-normal booking fall-off.

“We have some reductions coming,” Mr Woods told Tribune Business, adding that San Salvador’s Club Med resort has also informed the union it plans to close during the slowest period in the Bahamian tourism calendar, which typically runs from the beginning of September until the end-November Thanksgiving holiday.

“I think it’s next month some time,” he added. “There’s going to be a reduction because of the fall-off with these tariff wars. A couple of hotels expressed that they have seen a significant drop-off, and want a reduction in hours. Club Med in San Salvador, they normally close, and Atlantis, they’re closing the Coral Towers for about eight weeks.

“I think it’s around August 17 that they’re going to be closing. They’re going to re-open and close again because of the fall-off. We are working with the membership. A lot of them have extended vacation time available, so we’re trying to get them to take that. We actually already had a meeting with a couple of affected areas maybe on Monday last week letting them know.

“Once we found out we called a meeting to let them know what’s happening,” Mr Woods said, adding that the union was awaiting further details from Atlantis. “It’s pretty much the Coral Towers, and it will be housekeeping and pretty much all the service areas.

“We wouldn’t know until they decide which categories workers will be falling into, and the persons who will be left behind. We wouldn’t know if it’s 50 persons, if it’s 100 persons. We wouldn’t know until the decision is made who will be affected.”

The union president said engineering and maintenance staff, in contrast, will see their workload increase during this period as Atlantis and other resorts typically use the slower part of the tourism season - and the presence of fewer guests - to make repairs and property upgrades. Mr Woods also expressed hope that impacted staff with extended vacation will be covered for all or “most of” the closure.

“We’re working with NIB so that, once they go out, they can obtain unemployment benefit if they temporarily don’t have income,” he said. “We’re putting all the checks and balances in place prior to this happening so that there’s a smooth transition.”

Mr Woods said Atlantis had signalled that Coral Towers staff will return to work around the end of September, and added: “They have indicated that they have one group for sure coming in. That’s why they will close and re-open. We’re trying to get the complete picture on what’s going to happen.

“Even though it may be eight weeks, it may not be that long for the employees because they will have to close out and then come back to re-open. It does not necessarily mean persons are going to be off for the full eight weeks. We’re trying to do our best to mitigate against the time for unemployment where nothing happens...

“We’re just waiting for everything to fall into place. What we requested is that those persons with an extended vacation, they’ll be the first ones asked to move out so they can hopefully find work for the amount of other persons left. In September, particularly the service areas, a lot go on vacation. That frees up space to find others positions,” Mr Woods added.

“We’re always concerned with any closures that are going to affect income at this time, but our people are very resilient and most of them planned for this. September is a slower month, but they do have expenditure increases for children going back to school. It affects more newer persons coming into the industry who are not accustomed to what happens this time of year.”

Mr Woods said the hotel union acted as soon as Atlantis confirmed the Coral Towers’ temporary closure, asking for a meeting with both the resort and its members employed at the property. As for Club Med, he suggested that the property’s shuttering this year is “kind of different” because it takes place against the background of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and industrial deal.

“They always close for this period,” he added. “Now we have a new collective bargaining agreement, so we want to see what the date is.”