Modest hotels throughout the country will now be able to take advantage of volume purchase discounts afforded to larger resorts, courtesy of a new discount program.
The new discount program called the "American Independent Advantage Program" by American Hotel Register, was announced during a recent Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA) membership meeting.
Marcus Guara, Director of Sales for the Caribbean, Latin America and the Cruise Lines for American Hotel Register officially unveiled the program.
"For several years we have explored with BHA how to support some of the purchasing needs of the many small, independent, hotels throughout The Bahamas," according to Guara.
"We believe we've come up with an incentive program which works for all parties. In addition to the discount program, American Hotel Register will contribute one percent of all sales through the program to the BHA scholarship fund."
Stuart Bowe, the BHA president, revealed to Guardian Business that the program is exclusive to small-to-medium independent hotels. It provides purchase savings of up to 20 percent on over 3,000 products from over 50 vendors.
He said the program also provides incentives for reducing freight costs.
"Programs like this support our small hotels, many of which are owned by Bahamians, and located on the Family Islands where the cost of purchasing goods is higher," Bowe revealed.
"We are especially pleased that the program will assist with our ongoing scholarship initiatives, and the $1,000 down payment made by Marcus and American demonstrates their commitment. We applaud American and welcome this important initiative, which assists independent small-and-medium-sized hotels, by giving volume pricing discounts which large hotels and chains have long benefited from.
"While working with a group of small hotels several years ago, the idea for a discount program was seeded. Since that time we have explored numerous options and are pleased that the American Hotel Register has worked with us to come up with a solution."
Bowe noted that the discount varies, but can be as high as 20 percent and the benefit applies to all independent small hotels that are typically less than 100 rooms.
"BHA continues to look at ways in which we can assist hotels with saving money and reducing their high operating costs. This is a direct financial benefit to our members and at the same time we believe it will assist them with refreshing their properties with linens, supplies and materials.
"We have several allied members who have come forward in recent years to offer discounts to our hotel members. We welcome these initiatives, and the opportunity to share them with our members."
American Hotel Register is the world's largest supplier of hotel products including, linens, towels, sheets, bath amenities, case goods, outdoor furniture, uniforms and tens of thousands of other products.
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