Bermuda Pacts With Airbnb to Offer Traveler Experiences

Image: "Forward momentum in visitor experience over the past five years will continue seamlessly," said Kevin Dallas, BTA's chief executive officer. (Brian Major)

by Brian Major
Last updated: 12:40 AM ET, Fri April 5, 2019

Airbnb continues to make inroads with Caribbean governments and tourism organizations, simultaneously challenging traditional hospitality providers. The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) is partnering with the sharing economy provider to launch "Airbnb Experiences," a program offering visitors "immersive experiences hosted by locals looking to share their passions and interests."

Under the program announced last week, Bermuda residents will hosts visitors as they participate in activities that highlight the territory's "natural beauty" and "genuine Bermudian hospitality" through interactive cultural experiences. The program will "[help] spread the benefits of tourism to all parts of the island," said Bermuda Tourism Authority officials in a statement.

Airbnb's website currently lists more than 15 Bermuda experiences created in partnership with the BTA. Officials say the parties are expected to be added to the platform over the next few weeks. The experiences "are being marketed worldwide to millions of engaged Airbnb users who visit the company's website, social media and email channels," said company officials.

"Tapping the vast creative and entrepreneurial potential of Bermudians is a major plank of our National Tourism Plan, [and] Airbnb Experiences effectively delivers on that strategy," said Pat Phillip-Fairn, BTA's chief product and experiences development officer.

"We are very proud of the passionate locals putting Bermuda's legendary hospitality on display for the world, and we encourage others to step forward with their ideas."

"Airbnb Experiences are designed to allow people to immerse themselves in local communities and participate in activities led by local experts, all while encouraging cross-cultural connections between guests and locals." said Carlos Munoz, Airbnb's campaign manager, public policy and communications for the Caribbean and Central America.

"As a people-powered platform, we are pleased to expand our footprint in Bermuda to now include one-of-a-kind bookable experiences in addition to the hundreds of unique homes to stay in throughout the island," he added.

Tourism Turnaround

Partnering with Airbnb's Experiences program is one of several recent BTA initiatives launched to turn around the country's lackluster visitor growth of past years. After posting declining visitor numbers earlier in this decade, Bermuda hosted 281,886 overnight visitors in 2018, a 4.6 percent increase over 2017.

"A thoughtful transition is underway and our stakeholders should be confident the forward momentum in visitor experience over the past five years will continue seamlessly," said Kevin Dallas, BTA's chief executive officer.

Airbnb's Bermuda program follows pacts the provider has reached over the past three years with governments in Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Curacao, Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In addition, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in 2017 inked an agreement with Airbnb to "formulate sharing economy policy principles and recommendations for Caribbean governments and other stakeholders."

Under the partnership, CTO and Airbnb "share data and studies with policymakers about the positive impact of the sharing economy in the region; identify ways to make it more inclusive; broaden tourism benefits to non-traditional actors and attract new stakeholders," said CTO officials. Airbnb also provides CTO with "economic analysis of Airbnb's impact on local economies."

Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) officials reached an agreement with Airbnb as "part of ongoing efforts to maximize exposure of the tri-island destination of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique," said officials.

"Solidifying a strategic alliance with a global entity like Airbnb demonstrates our commitment to strengthening Grenada's tourism sector by tapping into new segments of the industry," said Dr. Clarice Modeste-Curwen, the country's minister of tourism.

While some hoteliers and industry analysts have drawn parallels between instances of decreased Caribbean hotel occupancy and Airbnb's growing prominence, Modeste-Curwen said competition with Airbnb for vacationers was not among the primary concerns for Grenada hoteliers.

"We've discussed it, and while initially there was that concern, I think hoteliers have realized it is a different demographic," she said. "If what they are looking for is not provided, [travelers] will simply go somewhere else and not necessarily to a hotel.

"The major concern we have managed to allay was that [hoteliers] pay taxes and Airbnb hosts do not." Modeste-Curwen added. "We are working on that. So as long as we do that and come to some kind of agreement, hoteliers will be happy or at least not antagonistic."

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