Coyaba returns to Jamaican hands after a decade as Zoetry

WESTERN BUREAU:

After a decade operating as Zoetry Montego Bay under international hotel management, one of the tourism capital’s longstanding Jamaican-owned resorts has returned to its roots.

The intimate 49-room Coyaba is once again being operated by its Jamaican owners, husband-and-wife team Kevin and Joanna Robertson, who say the return of the name has been met with stronger-than-expected demand.

For the Robertsons, who also own Country Country in Negril, the change represents more than the revival of a familiar hotel name. It marks their return to direct management of a property their family continued to own throughout its 10 years as Zoetry.

“For 10 years, it operated as Zoetry. That’s basically a management contract. The family owned the property the entire time, but obviously they managed it,” Kevin Robertson told The Gleaner.

The relationship began in 2015 when the Robertsons entered into a management agreement with AMResorts, at a time when the hotel group had a considerably smaller portfolio.

That landscape subsequently changed. AMResorts became part of Apple Leisure Group, which was acquired by Hyatt in 2021, effectively bringing the small Montego Bay property into Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection.

“We became a Hyatt, not by any choice of us, but because of who we had signed our management agreement with,” Robertson explained.

The arrangement continued until Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica last October, severely disrupting the tourism industry in western Jamaica and forcing the closure of several major resorts.

Now, as Montego Bay continues rebuilding its hotel room inventory, the Robertsons have taken Coyaba back into their own hands. The resort has reopened 32 of its 49 rooms, with the remaining rooms expected to return to service by October.

BUSINESS LOOKING POSITIVE

And, according to the couple, business has been considerably better than anticipated.

“The occupancy is actually much higher than we expected because there are so many hotels in Montego Bay that are closed,” they said.

For now, Coyaba is operating on a bed-and-breakfast basis, another departure from the predominantly all-inclusive model for which Jamaica’s resort industry has become known.

The Robertsons expect to reintroduce an all-inclusive option around November or December, returning Coyaba to the hybrid model it offered before becoming Zoetry.

“As Coyaba, we were always a hybrid. We always offered breakfast plan and all-inclusive, and so we’ll continue to do that, just to give more offerings to the market,” Joan Robertson said. “Everybody is totally all-inclusive, and we like to be a little different.”

Perhaps most encouraging for the owners has been discovering that the Coyaba name retained considerable recognition despite being absent from the hotel landscape for a decade.

“We’re very lucky that the Coyaba brand is very strong, and 10 years later people still remember us,” the Robertsons said.

The Robertsons say they have returned to a substantially improved physical product.

A major renovation was undertaken approximately 10 years ago in preparation for the transition to AMResorts, with considerable investment made in the guest rooms and other areas of the property.

“We spent a lot of time and a lot of money on the renovation. We spent probably too much money, but it was well worth it,” Kevin Robertson said.

He believes the family now has “the best of both worlds”, a contemporary physical product combined with local management deeply familiar with Montego Bay and the resort.

“We have a product that looks great, that looks very current, but we have management that is part of the community, with a lot of depth of experience and know-how,” he said.

That homecoming extends to the workforce.

Coyaba currently employs 44 people, including a number of former employees who have returned to the resort.

Among them is Executive Chef Kavin Graham, whose relationship with Coyaba began when he was just 19 years old.

Graham spent nine years with Coyaba before leaving during the transition. He subsequently developed his career elsewhere in the industry, rising through the culinary ranks before returning to the property as executive chef.

For the Robertsons, having former members of the Coyaba family return has helped make the transition back into direct operation easier.

During their 10-year absence from the management of the Montego Bay resort, the couple remained active hoteliers through Country Country, their 35-room property in Negril.

“We didn’t disappear,” they laughed. Despite concerns being expressed by some Negril operators about business conditions in the resort town, the Robertsons said Country Country has continued to perform well.

“We’re up from last year. We’ve been up every single year since 2022,” they said.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com