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18m electricity bills shock resorts
Janet Silvera, Hospitality Jamaica Coordinator
As electricity bills skyrocket, some of the island's hotels are being forced to shut down their air-conditioning units intermittently, open their windows throughout the day, while others have opted to using generators to conserve energy.
Yet, they are still choking under the current conditions. Some resorts receive electricity bills of close to $20 million each month.
The 720-room Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios has seen its electricity bill move from $12 million to $14 million within months and its January statement is an astounding $18 million, Ian Kerr, managing director of that resort, has confirmed to Hospitality Jamaica.
While struggling to make ends meet, Kerr said the increase is unbearable, but his hands are tied as he is not able to increase room rates because the market is so competitive. "We have not been able to significantly increase the arrivals into Jamaica to match the increase in available rooms," he noted.
The hotelier, who also operates Sunset Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, said that that property, which has over 400 rooms, is attracting an energy statement of $12 million per month.
The situation has become so alarming that the president of Hospitality, Financial and Technology Professionals, Joe Hylton, has called a meeting for 5:30 this evening at the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club (formerly Wyndham Rose Hall), Montego Bay, with energy engineer, André Johnson, in the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Telecommunications.
"Our members are concerned by the astounding increases a review of some of the January billings shows a 50 per cent increase over January 2006 and 37 per cent over January 2007," states Joe Hylton. He said a few of them had been forced to pass on some of the additional cost to the guests, with the majority opting not to.
monitor equipment
According to Hylton, the only thing that the island's hoteliers can do in the meantime is take on a no-nonsense approach, ensuring that all electricity-generating equipment are properly monitored and turned off when not in use.
Acknowledging that there were limitations to a lot of the measures that could be taken, he noted, "after all, we can't have a guest arriving to a room that is not cooled." Air-conditioning units burn the most amount of energy, Hospitality Jamaica understands.
In an effort to combat the rising cost of fuel, last November the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association proposed the implementation of a US$10 (J$700) per day energy surcharge, which would have been passed on to the clients, but this was rejected by several of the island's hoteliers, including Half Moon, Sandals Resorts International, Rose Hall Resort and Country Club and Sunset Resorts.
All of the resorts agreed that the hike in fuel prices had a ripple effect on energy costs and other expenses, but argued that the country could not remain competitive if this sudden increase was passed on to the client.
Janet Silvera, Hospitality Jamaica Coordinator
As electricity bills skyrocket, some of the island's hotels are being forced to shut down their air-conditioning units intermittently, open their windows throughout the day, while others have opted to using generators to conserve energy.
Yet, they are still choking under the current conditions. Some resorts receive electricity bills of close to $20 million each month.
The 720-room Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios has seen its electricity bill move from $12 million to $14 million within months and its January statement is an astounding $18 million, Ian Kerr, managing director of that resort, has confirmed to Hospitality Jamaica.
While struggling to make ends meet, Kerr said the increase is unbearable, but his hands are tied as he is not able to increase room rates because the market is so competitive. "We have not been able to significantly increase the arrivals into Jamaica to match the increase in available rooms," he noted.
The hotelier, who also operates Sunset Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, said that that property, which has over 400 rooms, is attracting an energy statement of $12 million per month.
The situation has become so alarming that the president of Hospitality, Financial and Technology Professionals, Joe Hylton, has called a meeting for 5:30 this evening at the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club (formerly Wyndham Rose Hall), Montego Bay, with energy engineer, André Johnson, in the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Telecommunications.
"Our members are concerned by the astounding increases a review of some of the January billings shows a 50 per cent increase over January 2006 and 37 per cent over January 2007," states Joe Hylton. He said a few of them had been forced to pass on some of the additional cost to the guests, with the majority opting not to.
monitor equipment
According to Hylton, the only thing that the island's hoteliers can do in the meantime is take on a no-nonsense approach, ensuring that all electricity-generating equipment are properly monitored and turned off when not in use.
Acknowledging that there were limitations to a lot of the measures that could be taken, he noted, "after all, we can't have a guest arriving to a room that is not cooled." Air-conditioning units burn the most amount of energy, Hospitality Jamaica understands.
In an effort to combat the rising cost of fuel, last November the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association proposed the implementation of a US$10 (J$700) per day energy surcharge, which would have been passed on to the clients, but this was rejected by several of the island's hoteliers, including Half Moon, Sandals Resorts International, Rose Hall Resort and Country Club and Sunset Resorts.
All of the resorts agreed that the hike in fuel prices had a ripple effect on energy costs and other expenses, but argued that the country could not remain competitive if this sudden increase was passed on to the client.