TripAdvisor Award Winner boosts ad budget amidst new Lenny Kravitz ad

TripAdvisor Award Winner boosts ad budget amidst new Lenny Kravitz ad
Rollezz Villas Beach Resort on Cat Island. PHOTO: BAHAMAS.COM)

CAT ISLAND, BAHAMAS – Seeking to boost occupancy by 10 per cent, one Cat-Island based 2019 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award winner has ramped up advertising to maximize exposure from the newest Ministry of Tourism ad featuring rock star Lenny Kravitz.

Rollezz Villas Beach Resort proprietor Carl Rolle said the ad’s highlights of the family islands places Cat Island and his award-winning property in a good position to put more heads in beds on the historical island. In return, he has taken out a two-month advertising contract with Google ads in hopes that Tourism’s marketing dollars will spark more interest in Bahamas vacations.

“We want to be further introduced to the travel and leisure, romance and adventure niche audience,” he told Eyewitness Business. “So we are spending some advertising dollars and using Google ads to capitalize on this recent exposure so we can move occupancy out to 40 per cent.”

The move comes on the heels of the ministry’s recent unveiling of its new brand campaign featuring Grammy Award-Winning Kravitz, who was also there at the launch. It is the first campaign that Tourism has released in the past six years and features many scenes of the musician and others exploring the islands by boat, with underwater activities and traditional attractions highlighted.

The scenes – some featuring interviews with islanders – are a part of a series of videos that are being circulated to show the world another angle of The Bahamas from what is most commonly known, said officials.

That narrative is so important to tell, said Rolle, as those experiences that have led to the same visitors to his beachside property coming frequently for that one-of-a-kind vacation to Cat Island.

“We have so many repeat guests because they know we are looking out for them and provide them with unique experiences so that they come with a smile, but leave with a smile and a touch of sadness because they don’t want to go,” said the owner of the eight-villas boutique property.

Rollezz Villas has had an upsurge in ranking on the popular travel site TripAdvisor in recent months, just last month winning the coveted annual Travelers’ Choice Award. The certificate of excellence recognizes properties with consistently good reviews and is designated for only the top-rated one per cent of all property listings on TripAdvisor.

“We’ve been looking at the upsurge in the ranking that Rollezz resorts has had in the last couple and we’re proud that we are ranked 9.7 out of 10,” Rolle added. “On TripAdvisor, there are only four hotels that have a ranking higher than 4.90 and we are second 4.94. When I look at the hotels in the Caribbean, I see this is an exceptional standard. Less than five per cent of hotels are able to maintain that, so we are always looking for opportunities to improve the experience, improve our landscape and our overall product to keep our guests coming back.”

He is confident the MOT’s spend on a new brand campaign can only help him further that goal.

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This article was written by Inderia Saunders for Eyewitness News Business