NASSAU, BAHAMAS — After a strong first-half performance, the country’s two major hotel properties navigated headwinds in the second half and now expect a strong first quarter in 2025, replicating this year’s earlier performance.
Jackson Weech, Vice President and General Manager of The Royal Towers at Atlantis and newly elected Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association president, stated: “Like the wider industry, certainly our first two quarters were pacing very well, and then we started to run into some headwinds. We successfully came through those headwinds. We had the concern as it relates to the announcement of hurricanes in the wider region. Traditionally, there is a contraction with the US elections. We have successfully come through it, and we’re optimistic about 2025.”
Weech noted that travelers are still using a shorter booking window, although it is not as pronounced as before.
“The holiday bookings are robust. They’re looking good. What we’re seeking in terms of growth for our first quarter of 2025, we see that almost replicating what happened this year.”
Robert ‘Sandy’ Sands, immediate past president of the BHTA, noted similar performance trends at Atlantis, stating: “This year has had its set of challenges. For the first seven months of the year, we were trending ahead of 2023, both in occupancy and rates. From August until mid-November, we met some headwinds but have seen a very strong Thanksgiving and a very encouraging and robust festive New Year. For 2025, the first quarter, similar to Atlantis, we will achieve occupancies similar to what we achieved in 2024.”
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