Baha Mar has moved its reservations window up to May 8, the company said in a press release yesterday after much criticism over its end-of-May reservation window. Eyebrows have also been raised over some of the taxes that appear on room reservations.
Baha Mar announced that the Grand Hyatt would open its reservations window almost 20 days earlier than originally advertised after the resort had its soft opening last Friday. The resort will also be offering special rates for Bahamians.
Bahamians who were interested in knowing if the resort had begun taking reservations were concerned about taxes listed on rooms as a "Cable Beach tax", a "Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board (NPIPB) tax" and a "bed tax". Guardian Business was told that those "taxes" should be looked at as levies.
The Ministry of Tourism sent out a press release yesterday heralding the multibillion-dollar Baha Mar resort opening as ushering in a "new era of tourism in The Bahamas". The release also suggested that the resort will help to expand airlift to New Providence.
Ministry of Tourism Senior Director of Airlift Development Tyrone Sawyer said in the release that his team has spent the last three to four years courting new airlift to The Bahamas in anticipation for the opening of the mega-resort, which opened last Friday.
Sawyer insisted that there is sufficient airlift to accommodate "the expected uptick in travel to The Bahamas because of interest in Baha Mar".
"What happens when you have a new product like this is it creates excitement in the marketplace and then it creates demand for our destination," said Sawyer.
"Those are things that drive airlift. That is why we are so happy to see this grand opening today."

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