A local startup is planning the launch of a second-home travel exchange network, billing it as the perfect way for the Ministry of Tourism to diversify its product outside of New Providence and Grand Bahama.
The program works by attracting current second home owners to put their homes in a vacation bank, to be used when they're not using them. With that network established, Interval Bahamas intends to market available homes to tourists looking for a Bahamas vacation outside of Nassau, Paradise Island and Grand Bahama.
"Now more than ever it's important," says Randy Rolle, one of the company's founding partners. "So we're partnering up with the Ministry of Tourism, having intentions of branding every Bahamian island separately as a second home destination."
Rolle asserts that one of the main benefits of government cooperation is that it provides for better tracking of second homes that are unofficially being used as vacation homes.
It comes as government tries to bring as many as 1,000 second homeowners — now treating their properties like hotels — into compliance with a new law. Earlier in the year, government ushered in amendments to the hotel legislation seeking to regularize private homeowners offering four or more rooms as hotel accommodations.
Currently there's a small Tourism unit charged with assessing properties and collecting payment of hotel guest taxes and other licensing fees. That money has long been mandatory for lodgings operators. As a group those operators have lamented the fact that second-home owners —which could number as many as 2,000 — have not been made to contribute to that tax pool.
Rolle asserts that is something that will change with the launch of his program.
The program is also being offered to current time share holders as well. That's a group that has made little moves in the way of upgrades or exchanges in the last year in the tight economy.
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The program works by attracting current second home owners to put their homes in a vacation bank, to be used when they're not using them. With that network established, Interval Bahamas intends to market available homes to tourists looking for a Bahamas vacation outside of Nassau, Paradise Island and Grand Bahama.
"Now more than ever it's important," says Randy Rolle, one of the company's founding partners. "So we're partnering up with the Ministry of Tourism, having intentions of branding every Bahamian island separately as a second home destination."
Rolle asserts that one of the main benefits of government cooperation is that it provides for better tracking of second homes that are unofficially being used as vacation homes.
It comes as government tries to bring as many as 1,000 second homeowners — now treating their properties like hotels — into compliance with a new law. Earlier in the year, government ushered in amendments to the hotel legislation seeking to regularize private homeowners offering four or more rooms as hotel accommodations.
Currently there's a small Tourism unit charged with assessing properties and collecting payment of hotel guest taxes and other licensing fees. That money has long been mandatory for lodgings operators. As a group those operators have lamented the fact that second-home owners —which could number as many as 2,000 — have not been made to contribute to that tax pool.
Rolle asserts that is something that will change with the launch of his program.
The program is also being offered to current time share holders as well. That's a group that has made little moves in the way of upgrades or exchanges in the last year in the tight economy.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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