The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus-based 138 Student Living apartments have been making strides into the tourism accommodations sector, and according to its management, has undertaken a slew of activities geared at ramping up bookings.
According to the company’s business development manager, Floyd Brown, the entity, which is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, is aiming to increase its short-term bookings by both tourists and Jamaicans alike at its Gerald Lalor Flats and the George Alleyne Hall.
“The business is twofold. A good part of the business is long-term rental, which is the original public-private partnership agreement with the UWI to provide long-term accommodation for students … due to a lack of hall residency accommodation on campus,” he explained.
“The second part of the product offering at 138 is short-term rental which offers 128 rooms all year round, except for the summer months June, July and half of August, prior to when the students return. But within those 10 weeks, the students aren’t there, the availability of rooms move up from 128 to approximately 1,500 rooms,” Brown said.
The executive said the focus for summer months has been on bringing in groups to the campus, whether for sporting camps, educational camps or other types of holiday camps, to utilise the additional spaces which become available when university students go off for the summer.
He noted that there are several other groups which are being targeted, including members of the Jamaica diaspora and small and medium-sized enterprises, who may be interested in affordable, high-quality accommodation with 24-hour security.
“A lot of these businesses, because of their restricted resources, are always going to look out for somewhere affordable to have their in-house training or workshops, or, when they have people come in from overseas to do maintenance work, or offer training, they want somewhere affordable for them to stay. This is our market for that because we do have conference room facility that we rent, which includes audiovisual equipment,” he said.
The company has also established partnerships with tour companies to offer one-day tours for guests, whether around Kingston city or on the north coast, an arrangement which, according to Brown, guests take comfort in as it gives them a feeling of security and safety.
An airport transfer system which has been implemented, facilitates incoming international guests who may be travelling to Kingston for the first time via the Norman Manley International Airport.
“The short-term rental is what we are developing right now, because there is so much potential in this particular area, and what we have to offer is kind of niche,” he said.