Andrei Mocanu assumed the role of general manager at Hôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf in St. Barthélemy early January, bringing more than 12 years of experience in luxury hospitality to the 21-room property.
The hotel only opened in October 2020 but has faced numerous challenges in the time since. The island of St. Barts was under COVID-19 lockdown from February to June 2021, and the hotel closed from August to October 2021 for hurricane season, meaning the newly renovated guestrooms sat empty for much of last year.
Since taking on the role as general manager at the start of 2022, Mocanu has been on a quest to ramp operations back up.
"We focused on building and refining the product and offers so we can have a strong 2022," he said.
Mocanu said he feels lucky the property is in a market that is now in constant high demand, allowing the hotel to make up for lost time.
"In 2022, we're seeing a good constant flow of guests," he said. "We began the year with 100% occupancy and had a good January. We are still building our repeat customer base."
Looking ahead, the hotel currently has two weeks in March sold out and the demand will pace well toward the end of August, he said. At that point, the hotel will close for two months for hurricane season.
The St. Barts market is now rebounding to levels close to 2019, he said.
"Some days, there's a plane landing every five minutes. As a destination, it's happening," he said. "We are trying to make our way on the five-star-plus market. In a way, we're [in] direct competition with Cheval Blanc, but we're still different. So I think we're complementing each other, not taking market share from each other."
However, new restrictions continue to emerge amid the pandemic. Just recently, the island imposed a limit of eight people per table with a 3-foot distance between each table for group events.
Staying up to date on regulations has been an easier task with help from the island's tourism office as well as the hotel staff's internal communication systems, he said.
"The tourism office keeps us well-informed with any updates, and we discuss them in our daily lineups and briefings. We send a recap to everyone's email and post it on bulletin boards. We also have internal WhatsApp groups where we send more time-sensitive updates," he said. "You cannot over communicate."
Demand Mix
In general, Mocanu said the demand mix at the hotel has been a variety of couples, families with adult children and corporate groups wanting to plan corporate retreats.
During January, the hotel hosted its first wedding of the year, with a group of about 40 people from New York. About 90% to 95% of its guests are from the U.S., mainly East Coast markets, he said.
"All their guests had a blast. Some of them were housed at the hotel and some were at villas on the island," he said. "They got married at the church and the whole wedding party came to the hotel."
Although many travelers are showing increased levels of comfort and are booking trips, he said the effects of COVID-19 are still lingering. His team recently had some inquires related to buyouts of the property in February but ultimately those guests decided to hold off.
"They're going to keep us in mind for the future," he said, noting the property lends itself well to buyouts and group events because of its size, being a two-minute walk to the center of town and having its own private beach club.
Challenges and Accomplishments
Mocanu said the property is staffed with a relatively young team with a median age of about 30. A few staff members were affected by COVID-19 and needed to isolate for 10 days, creating a challenge during a peak season.
"We just had to shuffle around. It's like a football team, you have to put your best player in the best position," he said.
Along with staffing shortages, the hotel hasn't been immune to supply-chain issues. His team was expecting a shipment of new guestroom furniture, ordered eight months earlier, but it just arrived in early February.
During that waiting period, his team was forced to find alternative solutions.
Though the hotel has been on a roller coaster of opening and temporarily closing, it has had the fortune of still garnering awards in 2021 as well as high guest satisfaction scores and reviews, he said.
"Overall — so far, so good," he said. "We are working on partnerships with local artists, fashion brands for pop-ups and hosting some legendary events in the year/season to come. Stay tuned."