— Bed-and-Breakfast providers report income boost during CPL matches, Cricket Carnival in Guyana

IT has been a truly memorable and fun-filled experience for the hundreds of patrons who visited Guyana from the Caribbean and further afield to participate in the more than two weeks of activities as part of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) matches and inaugural Cricket Carnival festivities that concluded with a bang two Sundays ago.

As the local streets lit up with an explosion of celebrations and events, several Bed-and-Breakfast (B&B) providers across the country are still smiling with satisfaction from seeing increased bookings. These providers also had the perfect opportunity to offer patrons exceptional accommodation and hospitality services to unwind and refuel, so they could have immersed themselves in the cultural extravaganza.

The Guyana Chronicle caught up with Jannice Chesney of Lexie Ville located at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, who expressed happiness at seeing a return on investment at the newly minted B&B residence that was fully booked for the period.

“I am happy because doing the service made me see the benefit of my investments and it not only help to put Guyana on the map and promote what the country has to offer, but it also demonstrated the level of hospitality,” she said.

Chesney revealed that the 12 visiting patrons were from the United States (US) and Trinidad and Tobago (TT). They had the comfort of enjoying the grandeur of Lexie Ville that comprises four main rooms, including three self-contained bedrooms along with basic amenities such as a bathroom; a fully furnished kitchen; a dining space; air-conditioning system; first-aid equipment; a fire extinguisher; a security system and potable as well as drinkable water supply, since she also runs a water-purification and distribution business.

In her view, the hosting of the CPL finals in Guyana for the next two years and Cricket Carnival is definitely a way to drive economic growth for B&B providers. It allows them to enhance the standards of their accommodation and hospitality services, with essential support from the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA).

She went on to commend the efforts of the GTA team in ensuring that her residence offered a quality standard by conducting inspections and giving recommendations to make the ‘home-away- from-home’ experience a good one. Currently, she is looking forward to transforming the environs of Lexie Ville and move on to introduce transportation and laundry services and the provision of breakfast to ease the hassle for patrons who return to destination Guyana.

INCREASED BOOKINGS
Moreover, Andrea (only name given) of Windsor Estate Splendour on the East Bank of Demerara and Roraima Elegance at Versailles, West Bank Demerara, indicated that it felt really good to see increased bookings as well as to be fully booked for the period.
She had guests from India, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States, who were able to have a luxurious stay and bask in the relaxing and tranquil ambience.

For the B&B provider, keeping the residences up to par involves paying attention to the needs of guests and using recommendations from reviews to improve the service in order to guarantee a worthwhile stay. Additionally, she emphasised that there is need for capacity-building to provide greater opportunities to benefit all B&B providers at different locations in the country.

Over at EESA Bed and Breakfast residence, Mark Carban stated that he was booked out, but his guests had other items on their agenda besides cricket and carnival. He shared that a patron even opted to leave on the first night of an initial three-day stay because their favourite team had a crushing defeat. Carban further shared that with B&B services tailored to tourists interested in exploring all things Guyana, he is committed to make his service safe, secure and comfortable for patrons.

Earlier in the year, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) encouraged Bed and Breakfast providers to become registered as part of the B&B programme that aimed to promote the accommodation spaces to people visiting for the cricket and carnival period.

GTA Director, Kamrul Baksh, said the B&B programme was developed to advance accommodation solutions due to the lack of room capacity for the increased number of travllers and it has become a ‘novel thing’ for Guyana.

“Given the great reception that we had from this initial Cricket Carnival 2022 event, it will go beyond the period and it is great because it allows individuals to gain meaningful incomes from the Bed and Breakfast programme,” Baksh told this publication.

He added: “We will continue to encourage homeowners, apartment owners and so forth to let their rooms out. There was a great impact on income being derived for microbusinesses and small businesses [and] we will continue to provide the support to build out on the bed and breakfast for other major expos and events.”