Editors’ Note

With more than 20 years’ management experience in the luxury hospitality industry, Michael Pownall joined Sandy Lane after eight years of service with Orient-Express Hotels in South Africa and the United States. He most recently held the position of Managing Director of the Keswick Estate, a 640-acre luxury hotel, golf club, and real estate development located outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Pownall has also served as Hotel Manager of the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, and has held numerous senior management positions in hotels throughout the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia. He was educated at the prestigious Blackpool Hotel School in England, where he earned a degree in hotel management, and completed further training with Cunard Hotels, Thistle Hotels, Forte, and Inter-Continental Hotels.

Property Brief

Originally built in 1961, Sandy Lane Hotel & Golf Resort (www.sandylane.com) is located on the western coast of the island of Barbados. It reopened in March 2001 after being completely rebuilt and expanded by owners Dermot Desmond, J.P. McManus, and partners. This exclusive 112-room resort offers stylish lodging in rooms that average 900 square feet; a five-bedroom villa; luxury Bentley airport transfers; four restaurants, including the signature restaurant L’Acajou; five bars; a 47,000-square-foot spa; and three distinct golf courses, offering guests the best golf in the Caribbean.

How has the Caribbean tourism market developed in the past year? Looking to the year ahead, are you expecting strong growth for the property?

Certainly, 2007 was a very strong year for both Sandy Lane and Barbados. Tourist arrivals in Barbados were up by double digits last year, but I don’t think that strength was reflected throughout the Caribbean. Barbados is very popular with people from Continental Europe and the U.K. The euro and pound have been very strong in the past couple of years, which has made our dollar-denominated prices actually cheaper year after year. But, having said that, the U.S. market has also done very well for us. It might be because the U.S. economy is slowing down and people are choosing to vacation a little bit closer to home as opposed to taking long-haul trips.

Are you happy with the current airlift to Barbados from major U.S. cities?

No, we’re not 100 percent happy with the airlift out of the U.S. There are some very good direct flights from certain cities, and the East Coast is very well taken care of. A new direct flight from Atlanta was introduced in 2006, and that will definitely help too. But unfortunately, people flying from Chicago and various other large cities have to connect in order to reach us, and that can be a deterrent to coming to Barbados. So we definitely need better airlift from certain key cities in order for those markets to grow.

Sandy Lane is a high-end luxury property offering top services and all of the expected amenities. Do you see your market as just the top tier, or is it broader than that?

We see it as broader than that. First, we are obviously at the highest end of the luxury market, but most people aspire to that, whether they have a lot of disposable income or just aspire to experiencing a similar lifestyle to those who do. Therefore, we have many aspirational clients, such as honeymooning couples and people celebrating special birthdays or anniversaries, who would typically not be our core market but nevertheless comprise a very important part of our customer base. They stretch to a Sandy Lane trip for a special occasion. So, in that sense, I think we cater to a cross section.

Another relevant factor is the seasonality of the Caribbean. The seasonal pricing differential means that we’re that much more affordable for a lot more clients through the summer months, and that has worked well for us over the last three years. Rather than discount our prices, we have added value. So your typical stay might include unlimited golf or some spa treatments. This has helped us hook a lot more business from clients who otherwise might not have thought Sandy Lane was affordable.

How would you describe your food and beverage concept?

This is a resort in the Caribbean, so people are typically here for at least five nights. While they are here, people want to have a Caribbean experience, from a food and beverage point of view. That means the location of each restaurant is really important – probably more important, quite honestly, than the food in some respects. People want to maximize the fact that they’re by the sea, and they want to sit under the stars, and see and hear the waves on the shore.

The other thing to mention is that the clients we attract often want relatively simple food. This might be because so many of them have fine dining experiences in their personal and business lives, on a normal day-to-day basis, so when they’re here on holiday, their tastes are very straightforward. I wouldn’t use the word “plain,” but they are often keen to have comfort food. We recently had some Greek guests out of the U.S. and they wanted moussaka. Do you come to Barbados for moussaka? I really wouldn’t have thought so. But I have noticed that when people are relaxed and on vacation, they just want what they want, and we need to cater to that.

Is it important for a luxury property to offer spa and fitness facilities?

Yes, unquestionably. For any resort, whether it’s in a hot country or cold country, providing spa facilities is just not negotiable now. The question is, what kind of spa facilities do you offer? We were very fortunate that, when the hotel was reopened in 2001, the owners put together a spa program that was, at the time, way ahead of anything else offered in the Caribbean – and most parts of the world, from a resort point of view. So we’ve got a great spa and we’re very proud of it. It has done very good business for us and is very popular with guests. Of course we have added amenities to it each year, as the spa world is evolving rapidly.

What about meeting space? Do you have the capacity to host large corporate meetings?

Typically, we cater to small board retreats of between 6 and 30 people. Considering the price point we’re at and the travel time to get here, those types of meetings suit us best. That’s not to say that we don’t do larger events and whole-property takeovers. We’ll close the hotel off for a private group or large event from time to time, but typically you’re only going to do that in the shoulder months or the off-season.