Welcome to paradise!
Dale Papke, the Canadian owner of Ports of Call Resort in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, talks to Travel Courier about their recent transformation, what’s new at the property and what travel agents should know.
Let’s start with the backstory. How did Canadians come to own a resort in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos?
The purchase of the hotel is an interesting story. My background was owning a hot tub manufacturing business as well as a commercial swimming pool installation and service company. I sold both those companies and a few years later started looking at homes and condominiums in Fort Lauderdale.
One night when sitting in a bar I decided that it would be more prudent to purchase a small hotel and convert one or two units into an owner’s suite. After looking at several Florida motels and actually making an unsuccessful offer on a larger hotel, I started searching resorts available for sale in the Caribbean.
As there were only a few islands that I would consider investing in, I was quite excited when I found a 100-room Comfort Suites available for sale in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. I was familiar with the island and knew that the hotel/plaza was perfectly located in walking distance to everything as I had made a business trip there a few years earlier to finalize the sale of an exercise pool to the local hospital and the sale of some hot tubs and a pool installation to a resort being constructed on the island.
Scotiabank, CIBC and Royal Bank have branches on the island, Fortis being the supplier of the electricity and a good percentage of the businesses are owned by fellow Canadians. Also, the recession factored low purchase price would allow us to sell rooms at substantially lower prices than the majority of the other island resorts.
There was also a 18,000 sq. ft half-empty Ports of Call plaza adjacent to the hotel that was included in the deal. The hotel and plaza had been neglected for a few years as a combination of the owner passing and his estate taking over in the midst of the recession. We made the gamble that the recession was nearing its end and that with some improvements and getting the staff re-motivated, that the hotel and the plaza could be made profitable.
After several twists and turns we finally took ownership in June 2011.
Wendy and Dale Papke on Grace Bay Beach
When the island shut down due to the COVID crisis and we realized that it may be shut for awhile, we were the first and still one of the only island resorts to offer our guests a full refund or two years to reschedule. We believe that this policy reinforced our great reputation. We also made the decision to not layoff or furlough any of our staff. Hours were certainly reduced but we insured that they all earned enough to cover their food and basic needs.
Dale Papke
Tell us a little more about the resort and what’s changed since then?
In the initial year we cancelled the franchise agreement and rebranded the plaza and hotel as the Ports of Call Resort. We staffed the beach and equipped it with free lounge chair, umbrellas, paddleboards and kayaks. We also purchased two eight-seat golf cars to run those guests who
did not want to make the three minute walk to the beach. Over the initial two years we installed new bathrooms, new furniture and flat screen TVs in each room. We also installed a hot tub, fitness room and games area. Welcome drinks and a weekly Manager’s Social was introduced.
As a result we were able to market the property as medium upscale yet be the most affordable resort on the island and soon the improvements were resulting in substantial gains in both occupancy and ADR.
Our typical guest is a mid-to-upper level income earner who appreciates the fact that our resort has all the amenities of a larger more expensive resort so they can have more money left over for meals and excursions. We welcome children.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma in Sept 2017 dealt the resort significant damage so we had to re-do all the rooms again but since we reopened that December the hotel and plaza have enjoyed year-after-year growth in both occupancy and profits.
Up until the March onslaught of COVID, the resort was experiencing its best year ever as we have a great on-island Management team and Board of Directors.
The marketing, reservations, major purchasing and most importantly customer service is handled by my wife and two daughters through our Canadian company.
COVID-19 has been a challenging time for the industry, but Ports of Call Resort has a good news story to share. Tell us about keeping your staff and local contractors employed during this time?
When the island shut down due to the COVID crisis and we realized that it may be shut for awhile, we were the first and still one of the only island resorts to offer our guests a full refund or two years to reschedule. We believe that this policy reinforced our great reputation.
We also made the decision to not layoff or furlough any of our staff. Hours were certainly reduced but we insured that they all earned enough to cover their food and basic needs.
Modern enhancements to the boutique property include brand new floor tiles throughout the halls, rooms, and suites, decorative wood corridor entrances and bathroom doors for all guest rooms, a major makeover to the pool and deck area.
Can you share more details about your recent renovation, what’s new and exciting, etc?
We decided to use the downtime to initiate a major renovation that included replacing over 50,000. sq. ft of tile in all the hallways, common areas and guest rooms, replacing all the guest room hallway and washroom doors, complete a pool renovation and install a new eco-friendly waste management system.
The renovation was just completed and the hotel looks like a brand new resort.
In the midst of the lockdown and initiating this major renovation we also had a major fire that did over two million dollars of damage to our plaza so we had to initiate a rebuild on the plaza as well. This project is going well and we expect all the tenants to be back in place and the plaza reopened in mid-December.
Unlike the majority of the other hotels on the island that operate under a condo hotel format with guaranteed cash flow from strata fees, the losses we are absorbing each month are quite extensive. Occupancy since reopening in July has been under 10% and we are not anticipating overall occupancy to exceed 30% in 2021.
Fortunately, we have enjoyed some good years over the past decade and have enough reserves to outlast the one or two years that COVID will negatively impact the industry.
What protocols have you implemented to ensure guest safety in the wake of COVID-19?
- All guests are provided masks and wipes
- Sanitizing Stations are installed throughout the resort
- Plexiglass Barriers are installed at the Front Desk
- All staff wear masks
- All rooms are electrostatically sprayed before turnover
- Extra daily cleaning of rooms
- Two day gap in room assignments between departing and arriving guests
- Buffet Breakfast has been replaced with a personal served breakfast
- Pool chaise, bar chairs and tables have been properly spaced
How are you feeling about the recovery of the industry?
Despite the recent COVID and fire setbacks, I see business improving a little bit every month but expect it will take another few years to be back to pre-COVID occupancy levels.
In the interim, Ports of Call presents an excellent opportunity for a winter vacation. Active COVID cases on the island are single digit and decreasing weekly. As the island has a population of only 30,000, it is never crowded and as the majority of the resorts are low rise and
small in size, Turks and Caicos provides a safe opportunity for a 2021 winter vacation.
Is there anything you want to share with travel advisors?
Travel packages to Ports of Call are available through Air Canada and WestJet and agents are protected when booking direct with the resort. Ports of Call Resort features studio rooms, one-bedroom suites as well as three-bedroom villas at great value. It’s located across the road from the renowned Grace Bay Beach and guests can enjoy all the amenities of larger more expensive resorts including its own staffed and equipped beach section, breakfast and WiFi. The resort is presently open and operating as normal with additional cleaning and physical distancing measures in place.
