THE BRANDING
WORLD-LEADING
HOTEL FRANCHISE
The resort is planned to be branded by one of the world’s leading hotel groups under a formal long-term Franchise Agreement. It will be operated and managed by Highgate (www.highgate.com) – a global hotel operator with an expanding presence in Latin America and the Caribbean. Highgate currently manages over 160 hotels totaling approximately 45,000 rooms.
FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
By entering into a Franchise Agreement with one of the world’s leading hotel groups, Waterside will significantly enhance the business performance of the resort. Whilst brand franchisors demand relatively high fees, the cost is considered to be well-justified by the ability to drive occupation levels and profitability.
LOYALTY MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMME
The brand franchisor has one of the largest loyalty membership programs in the world with over 100 million members. Loyalty members spend a disproportionately high amount of their loyalty points at hotels in holiday or resort destinations such as The Bahamas – which bolsters confidence in the brand franchisor’s ability to drive RevPAR*.
Following consultation with Highgate, Waterside believes that the positive effects of the brand franchisor’s reservation support, combined with the effect of the resort being a new premium destination in the Caribbean, close to the USA, will result in an overpenetration of the resort’s RevPAR by approximately 130% (i.e., 30% higher than most competitor hotels in the Caribbean).
* RevPAR means revenue per available room – which is a performance metric used to assess a hotel’s ability to fill available rooms. It is calculated by multiplying the average daily room rate (ADR) by its occupancy rate. It may also be calculated by dividing a hotel’s total room revenue by the number of available rooms in the period being measured.
BRAND FRANCHISOR SUPPORT
The brand franchisor has a world-renowned name and reputation – giving travelers the comfort that their lifestyle and safety needs will be met when travelling. The brand franchisor also offers its worldwide presence, marketing, infrastructure and booking system. It also has the capability to drive significant high-rated corporate and incentive business to its branded hotels, which is particularly helpful for increasing occupancy during the workweek and at other times when occupancy levels may otherwise be lower.