Bahama Crisis

‘Just about handle everything,’ he commented. He turned and watched the Cunningham JetStar take off, then said, ‘Let’s move.’

I drove them through Freeport on my way to the Royal Palm Hotel. I was proud of the Royal Palm; for my money it was the best hotel in the Bahamas. Of course, it had been my money that had built it, and I was looking forward to seeing Billy’s reaction. On the way I said, ‘Is this your first time in the Bahamas, Debbie?’

‘Yes.’

‘Mine, too,’ said Billy. That surprised me, and I said so. ‘Just never gotten around to it.’ He twisted in his seat. ‘Which way is Freeport?’

‘Right here. You’re in downtown Freeport.’ He grunted in surprise, and I knew why. The spacious streets, lawns and widely separated low-slung buildings were like no other city centre he had seen. ‘It shows what you can do when you build a city from scratch. Twenty years ago this was all scrubland.’

‘Oh, look!’ said Debbie. ‘Isn’t that a London bus?’

I laughed. ‘The genuine article. There seems to be a mystique about those all over the English-speaking world – I’ve seen them at Niagara, too. I think the London Transport Board makes quite a profit out of selling junk buses as far-flung tourist attractions.’

In the foyer of the Royal Palm Billy looked around with an experienced eye. The Cunningham Corporation ran its own hotels and knew how they ticked. He glanced upwards and gave a long, slow whistle. The foyer rose the entire height of the hotel, a clear eight storeys with the bedrooms circling it on mezzanines. ‘Wow!’ he said. ‘Isn’t that a lot of wasted space?’

I smiled; even the Cunninghams had a lot to learn. ‘It might be in a city hotel, but this is a resort hotel. There’s a difference.’

Jack Fletcher, the hotel manager, was standing by and I introduced him to the Cunninghams. He booked them in with as few formalities as possible, then said, ‘Here are your room keys – Mr Cunningham, Miss Cunningham.’ He gave Billy another key. ‘Your car’s in the garage.’

I said, ‘Find another car for Miss Cunningham; she might like to do some sightseeing by herself.’

‘Hey!’ said Billy. ‘No need for that.’

I shrugged. ‘No sweat; we run a car hire company and the season hasn’t topped out yet. We have a few cars spare.’

He took me by the elbow and led me to one side. ‘I’d like to talk with you as soon as possible.’

‘You always were in a hurry.’

‘Why not? I get things done that way. Say, fifteen minutes?’

‘I’ll be in the bar.’ He nodded in satisfaction.

He was down in ten minutes and strode into the bar at a quick clip. After ordering him a drink I said, ‘Where’s Debbie?’

Billy smiled crookedly. ‘You know women; she’ll take a while to prettify herself.’ He accepted the bourbon on the rocks. ‘Thanks.’

‘Your room all right?’

‘Fine.’ He frowned. ‘But I still say you’re wasting a hell of a lot of space.’

‘You’re thinking in terms of city downtown hotels. Space is cheap here and the clientèle is different.’ I decided to push. ‘What are you here for, Billy? You mentioned a proposition.’

‘Well, we have a few dollars going spare and we’re looking for somewhere to invest. What’s your idea of the future of the Bahamas?’

‘My God, Billy, but you have a nerve! You want to come in here as a competitor and you’re asking my advice?’

He laughed. ‘You won’t lose out on it. You’ve already said a couple of things that have set me thinking. We think we know how to run hotels back home, but it might be different here. Maybe we could set up a partnership of sorts and use your local expertise.’

‘A consortium?’ He nodded, and I said contemplatively, ‘A few dollars. How few would they be?’

‘About forty million few.’

The bartender was standing close by, polishing an already over-polished glass. I said, ‘Let’s go and sit at that corner table.’ We took our drinks and sat down. ‘I think the future of the Bahamas is pretty good. Do you know much of our recent history?’

‘I’ve done my homework.’ He gave me a swift and concise résumé.

I nodded. ‘That’s about it. You Americans are now coming to the realization that Pindling isn’t an ogre and that he runs a fairly stable and conservative government. He’s safe. Now, let’s come to your hotels and the way you run them. Your clientèle consists of businessmen and oil men, fast on their feet and on the move. They want fast service and good service, and they’re here today and gone tomorrow. Because your land values in the city are so enormous you pack them in tight and charge them the earth because you have to. If you didn’t the operation wouldn’t pay; it would be more profitable to sell up and move into some other business. Have I got it right?’

‘Just about. Those guys can pay, anyway; we don’t get many complaints.’

I waved my arm. ‘What do you think of this place?’

‘Very luxurious.’

I smiled. ‘It’s intended to look that way; I’m glad you think it succeeds. Look, Billy; your average tourist here isn’t a jet-setter and he doesn’t have all that many dollars to spend. He’s a man and his wife, and maybe his kids, from Cleveland, Ohio. Perhaps he’s done one trip to Europe, but he can’t go again because Europe is too damned expensive these days and the dollar is bloody weak. So he comes here because he’s going foreign and economizing at the same time. Big deal.’

‘What about the Europeans? Lots of those about here.’ Billy jerked his thumb towards the lobby. ‘Out there I heard German, French and Spanish.’

‘The Spanish would be coming from the Argentine,’ I said. ‘We get lots of those. They, and the Europeans, come for the same reason – because it’s cheaper here. But they don’t come first class or even tourist. They come on charter flights in package deals organized by the travel agents – mostly German and Swiss. Neither the Americans nor the Europeans, with few exceptions, have a lot of money to throw around. So how do we handle the operation?’

‘You tell me.’

‘Okay.’ I spread my hands. ‘We give them the semblance of luxury – stuff they can’t get at home. Palm trees are cheap to buy, easy to plant and grow quickly; and you don’t get many of those in Cleveland or Hamburg. And they look damned good. We have a few bars dotted about the place; one on the beach, one by the pool, a couple inside. We hire a local guitarist and a singer to give the live mood music – Bahamian and Caribbean calypso stuff – very romantic. We have a discothèque. We have a place to serve junk food and another for gourmet dining – both are equally profitable. We have shops in the lobby; jewellery, clothing, local handicrafts, a news-stand and so on. So far those have been concessions, but now we’re tending to operate them ourselves; I’ve just started a merchandising division. And, as I said, we run a car hire outfit; that’s part of the tours division. On the beach we have a few sailboats and wind-surfing boards, and we hire a beach bum to act as life-guard and to show the clients how to use the stuff. That’s free. So are the tennis courts. There’s also use of an eighteen-hole golf course for a concessionary fee. There’s a marina linked to the hotel so we also pull in the boating crowd.’

‘It seems a customer can get most of what he wants on his vacation without ever leaving the hotel,’ Billy hazarded.

‘That’s it,’ I said. ‘That’s why they’re called resort hotels. But what we don’t have in the lobby is a liquor store; if a tourist wants his booze he pays bar prices. We want to squeeze as many dollars and cents out of these people as we can while they’re in our tender care. And they are in our care, you know; they have a good time and they’re not cold-decked. We have a crêche and a children’s playground – that’s more to keep the kids out of people’s hair than for anything else – and we have a doctor and a nurse. And there’s no drill or razzmatazz – they’re just left alone to do as they please which seems to be mostly roasting in the sun.’

Billy grimaced. ‘Not the kind of vacation I’d fancy.’

‘Neither would I, but we’re not tourists. So what happens when our man goes home? His friends look at that deep tan and ask him about it. “Gee!” he says. “I had the greatest time. Free sailboating, free tennis, cheap golf on the most superb course you can imagine. It was marvellous.” Then he does a hip shimmy around the office. “And, gee, that calypso beat!” That’s what he tells his friends when the snow is two feet deep in the street outside the office, and they like the idea, so they come, too. Maybe the year after.’

Billy mused. ‘Fast turnover and small margins.’

‘That’s the name of the game,’ I said. ‘That’s why room occupancy is critical; we keep filled up or go broke.’

‘Any trouble in that direction?’

I smiled. ‘We’re doing just fine,’ I said lightly.

He grunted. ‘I’d like to see your profit and loss account and your balance sheet.’

‘If you come up with a firm offer I might give you a quick look.’ I thought for a moment. ‘I’ll introduce you to a few people and you can get a feel of the place. David Butler is a good man to talk to; he’s top man in the Ministry of Tourism here on Grand Bahama.’ I hesitated. ‘There might be a problem there.’

‘What problem?’

‘Well, you’re a southerner. Would you have any problem dealing with a black on equal terms?’