Tucker’s Director: “Bermuda Needs This SDO”

[Written by Bermudian Paul Telford, the Rooms and Spa Director at Tucker’s Point Hotel & Spa]

Hopefully amidst the barrage of rhetoric and sensationalism what I have written here will help to shed a refreshing perspective on some of the factors surrounding the Tucker’s Point SDO. From what I understand, an SDO should only be granted where national interests require it. Bermuda needs this SDO now more than ever. I cannot express to you the fear that stabs at my heart when I think of what could become of our tourism industry should this SDO not be approved.

I’m not an economist. I’m a career hotelier. However, it doesn’t take much to understand that our island’s economy is entirely dependent on foreign investment. We have zero natural resources to sell to the rest of the world. All we have to offer is our services. Tourism, banking and reinsurance services are a few that we have done well in the past. The external investment comes in to Bermuda and provides the fuel that powers our island economy, providing jobs for many Bermudians and even some people who are not Bermudian.

So why is it imperative that Bermuda see this SDO approved? Because Bermuda as a nation depends on external investment, and in such dire global economic times, we cannot afford to scare away potential investment in this way. There are countless investors around the globe who are watching us this very moment. If these investors see that Bermuda’s decision makers welcome foreign investment and provide the support necessary for success, they will inject the finances necessary to sustain our way of life. If these same investors see hesitation on our part, they will more than likely take their money elsewhere. This is not a decision that we can put off for a year and deal with later. We need to show confidence and decidedness.

Understand that this is not a Tucker’s Point problem. This is a Bermudian problem that includes Tucker’s Point, Newstead Belmont Hills, Pink Beach and all potential future developments. If the SDO is approved, Bermuda could very well experience a strong surge of investors who would be willing to save projects such as Newstead and Pink Beach. Projects in the pipeline could also see a surge in activity.

Many commentators in opposition to the SDO question why we should save Tucker’s Point, HSBC, or Mr. Trippe. A few have commented that Tucker’s Point should be allowed to go into receivership. This SDO is clearly about saving Bermudian jobs and the future of Bermuda’s tourism industry. What people don’t understand about the receivership scenario is that it is not sustainable and jobs will be lost. Receivers are accountants who have no expertise in operating the companies they manage. They are experts in slashing expenses and know nothing about operating a hotel of Tucker’s Point’s caliber. Rosewood brings expertise to the table along with global brand recognition and operations talent that no receiver could ever dream of.

Take for example that in 2009 we purchased lounge chairs for our Beach Club. Each chair cost us approximately $420. As we look to purchase lounges for the Beach Club this year, we could purchase the exact same lounge that we purchased in 2009 through Rosewood for $202. That’s $218 in savings per chair. When you’re looking at purchasing 100 chairs, $21,800 is a big deal. I’m so sorry, but there is no receiver on the planet that would achieve the same result. This is but one example. Why do you think the Fairmont hotels are still open today? A 600+ room hotel is not easy to maintain in the off-season, but with backers such as Fairmont they seem to get by year after year. With a work force that is 90% Bermudian and with Bermudians such as myself in prominent management positions, what a shame it would be to turn away someone like Rosewood. What a shame it would be for so many Bermudians to lose their livelihoods. I have a family to support.

I wish that those in opposition to the SDO would stop for a minute to consider the people affected by this. Again, I’m so sorry, but if the SDO is not approved, HSBC will not feel the pain that so many of the opposition would like to see. It will be people like me and my 200+ Bermudian colleagues who will suffer the most. This would be but a mere blip on the radar for a global giant such as HSBC should the SDO not pass. For us on the other hand, we will need to begin looking for ways to put food on the table for our children. And in this global economic crisis, that’s much easier said than done. What makes me even more sad are the comments that those in opposition to the SDO have been spreading in attempts to bolster their argument.

Mr. Hayward quoted to the media that there were 2000+ walkers who toured Tucker’s Point property last Sunday. I was there greeting the walkers on Sunday and an accurate count that was conducted showed that there were 909 walkers. I would consider a large error to be +or-10 people, but seriously, where did 2000 come from? Also, as I’m sure you can appreciate, when you grow up in Bermuda and you have a true Bermudian family to raise you, you will learn about every plant and animal that covers this rock. I recall my grandfather’s garden behind the homestead in Somerset. As I walk around Tucker’s Point and look at the land to be developed in the SDO, I see many more Chinese Palms and Casuarinas than I do endemics. Any Bermudian worth his/her weight in gold would tell you that Chinese Palms, Fiddlewoods and Casuarinas are not worth fighting for. They certainly aren’t worth 200+ Bermudians losing their jobs over. As one prominent Bermudian has said in the past, “Let’s not tippy toe through the oleanders here!” The development that Tucker’s Point has done up until this point has been extremely conscious of protecting the environment. There will not be slabs of concrete everywhere and I would venture to say that we will see much more endemics than exist now. Mr. Hayward should be supporting the SDO.

At Sunday’s walk I spoke with one lady who was there to show her opposition to the SDO. Until this day I cannot seem to get over our conversation. She told me that she wanted to see this land saved for her children. I replied that I’d like to be able continue providing for mine. She asked me where I was from. I replied that with the last name Telford, where else would I be from, Somerset of course. I then asked her where she was from. She replied that she was from Canada, well originally Scotland. I’m sure that you’ve heard the comments about the demographics of the participants of Sunday’s walk. I would say that the lady I spoke with in the example above was representative of two thirds of the 909 people who participated in the walk.

My father worked in the Bermuda hotel industry for over 40 years until the day he passed away. Despite all of the barriers that he faced in his career over the years as a black Bermudian, I chose to follow in his footsteps. This is the career I have chosen in order to provide for my family. We already know that not many Bermudians view a career in hospitality as attractive. So many people in Bermuda are so resistant to letting this industry thrive and soar! I was fortunate enough to work with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts for 7 years and have worked in four and five-star hotels in Washington DC, Mexico and Hawaii. I’ve always wondered why Bermuda has never had a true four or five-star hotel. Is it because every time a company such as Four Seasons or Rosewood shows interest in Bermuda, those who don’t understand this industry find a way to destroy that opportunity? I implore you for once to let someone have the chance to finally help us to achieve four or five star status. We have never been able to do it. How proud my father would be if he could see his son playing a role in something truly monumental in Bermuda’s history.

Bermuda has reached a crossroads. A crucial decision must be made where we must define the future of our tourism product. One thing that makes me truly proud to be Bermudian is that Bermuda has always led the pack when it came to which road to take to the future. Our neighbors in the Caribbean have always followed our lead. First we showed them how it was done in tourism, and then with international business. It is almost un-Bermudian when some of the opposition to the SDO has the audacity to suggest that we follow the Bahamas and lower our prices to fill more hotel rooms. As my father would often say, they have no clue what they’re talking about. Bermuda is tiny. We are alone in the middle of the Atlantic. Yet, we are close to the East coast of the United States and it’s not cheap to get here or stay here. Does it really make much sense to lower our room rates when the air fares will still be high? The cost of living in Bermuda is too high anyway. Who would you find to work in this hotel? If you lower the rates, you’re going to have to lower the wages or cut jobs. The quality of the service will drop, obviously. Why not raise the quality?

How about this for an idea? Bermuda becomes a niche market. Appealing to the rich and wealthy, Bermuda will provide ultra luxury accommodations and experiences, charging the same prices it charges now or even higher. There are actually people out there who have the money to pay our prices. I saw them every day at Four Seasons. They are coming to Tucker’s Point Hotel right now. Do you realize that our hotel was sold out on February 26th this year? We will be sold out for three days in April and in June and July we will be demanding room rates starting in the $700s with average occupancies well over 90 per cent. With the support of a luxury hotel company such as Rosewood, we have access to thousands of our target market consisting of people who are willing to pay top dollar for the luxury experience. With the facilities at Tucker’s Point and the assistance of Rosewood, we could easily become a truly successful five-star hotel in two to three years.

Without the SDO there will be no Rosewood. We would have to forget any of the other significant players such as Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton or Starwood Hotels coming to Bermuda. And there is no other Bermuda property that is five-star. In receivership, the accountants would begin to cut costs and people would lose their jobs. The future of our tourism product would be abysmal. No luxury hotel to speak of and no attraction to come here because there would be nothing different about us than any other island in the Atlantic. Well, yes, maybe we’re more expensive. We have the same nice beaches as the Bahamas and the same blue water. Without the external investment, our island economy would simply degenerate.

This island has only its services to depend on. We have zero production. We have to attract external investment in order to survive. The investors are there and they’re watching us. By showing those outside of Bermuda that we welcome their investment, we will save Bermudian jobs. If we hesitate, we won’t hurt or punish HSBC. We will most certainly hurt or punish a couple hundred Bermudians immediately and the generations to come will see the gradual downfall of tourism in this island. Please don’t believe all of the rhetoric and sensationalism that is out there and please hear the voice of true Bermudians who are depending on your vote for our future. Many Bermudians have given their children better futures by working in the hospitality industry and others have chosen a career in this industry. Like those before us we have the opportunity to define our tourism product for decades to come and lead the pack. Let’s not be followers. We have always been leaders. Let’s make Bermuda a truly five-star product and something that our neighbors wish they could be.”

[Paul Telford studied International Hotel Management at the University of Buckingham in England, worked at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C. and Punta Mita, Mexico from 2000 to 2006 and is currently the Rooms and Spa Director at Tucker’s Point Hotel & Spa.]

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