Playa Hotels & Resorts’ Jamaican operation experienced a double blow as the passage of Hurricane Beryl in July added to the decline in room occupancy due to a United States-issued advisory warning against travel to the country.

Notwithstanding, the company is encouraged by booking figures coming in for the fourth quarter, which coincides with the start of the winter tourist season.

For the third quarter ended September 30, 2024, the all-inclusive chain achieved room occupancy of 63.5 per cent compared with 77.6 per cent in the same period in 2023. As a result, Playa estimates that average daily spend fell from US$422.23 in Q3 2023 to $363.50, a decline of 13.9 per cent.

Revenue for the period also dipped for the three-month period, moving from US$49.84 million to US$35.9 million.

“Owned Net Revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2024 decreased $13.9 million, or 28.0 per cent, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2023. The decrease was driven by the travel advisory issued for Jamaica by the United States government on January 24, 2024 and disruption related to Hurricane Beryl, which negatively impacted this segment during the three months ended September 30, 2024,” the company wrote in its release on results for Q3.

“Owned Resort EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2024 decreased $12.1 million compared to the three months ended September 30, 2023,” it added.

Notwithstanding the results, chairman and CEO of Playa Hotels & Resorts Bruce Wardinski said that the destination fared “better than expected”. He said: “Occupancy in the Pacific Coast and Jamaica was better than expected during the third quarter, as demand improved as we moved past the most disruptive portion of our renovation work in Los Cabos and trends in Jamaica resumed their recovery following Hurricane Beryl.”

“We are highly encouraged by the improvement in Jamaica as we move into the high season. Fourth quarter Occupancy in Jamaica is pacing down slightly compared to Q4 2023 and the first quarter of 2025 is also in line with Q1 2024,” Wardinski added.

He anticipates that the improvement in demand will result in a rebound in occupancy in Jamaica by Q1 or Q2 2025. In the company’s earnings call executives estimated that Playa’s Jamaican operation has lost around US$10 million in income due to the US travel advisory.