Dear Editor,
I would be remiss if I did not contribute to the annals of St. Maarten Tourism history of my personal recollection and experience with Bob Dubourcq. Bob was a legend in the Hotel and Tourism industry in St. Maarten. Not only did he immensely contribute to its development but based on my personal experience he helped shape our Tourism posture in the 1970s and ’80s.
I watched Bob from a distance when I started in 1975 at the front desk and then as Assistant Manager of Mullet Bay Beach Hotel. Bob exuded all the attributes of a true host in being a world class hotelier.
As a Hotelier you are expected to be “a diplomat, a democrat, an autocrat, an acrobat and a doormat. You must be able to entertain Prime Ministers, Princes of Industry, pickpockets, gamblers and philanthropists. You must be on both sides of the political fence and be able to jump the fence.” Bob Dubourcq was all the foregoing and most of all a gentleman and diplomat.
To be a successful Hotelier you must “keep the bar full, the hotel full, the storeroom full, the wine cellar full, the customers full and not get full yourself.” With absolute assurance, I can attest that Bob kept all his operational needs at Little Bay full in the ’70s, but most especially the most important mark of success, Bob kept his hotel full.
Bob Dubourcq and Little Bay Hotel ranked amongst the most successful hotel operations in the Caribbean recording the highest average occupancies year-round. I know as a fact that guests at Little Bay Hotel under Bob’s capable management booked their Winter vacations for the following year while at the Hotel immediately prior to checking out. Bob had the highest repeat guest percentages on St. Maarten.
Bob Dubourcq at the time was the go-to guy for the Caribbean Hotel Association, having served as Director to CHA for a number of years. Bob was ranked in the same category with legendary hoteliers at the time such as Heinz Simmonitz of Jamaica and Howard Hulford of Antigua. Bob co-authored the 10 reasons to visit St. Maarten which strong attributes made St. Maarten unique amongst Caribbean destinations.
In seeking about keeping the house full, as General Manager of the Summit Hotel in the early ’80s, I vividly remember Bob and I walking the pavements in New York suburbs to visit Travel Agencies. With briefcases full of brochures, we would lead the sales efforts long before Sales managers would form part of direct sales ad promotion, walking door to door to the Travel agencies. In this respect, Bob heavily promoted the importance of Travel agents’ Familiarization trips. In those days, the Travel agent had no expense to visit St. Maarten to learn and eventually sell the destination. I attended many functions where Bob would lead presentations in selling St. Maarten.
Under Bob Dubourcq’s management of Little Bay Hotel, he directed 131 employees to 120 rooms. His staff was considered the most seasoned on St. Maarten and Bob was the only Hotelier at the time to have two Collective Labor Agreements: one for Supervisors and Managers and one CLA for staff. An innovation in Labor relations I inherited from Bob at the Belair Hotel in 1986.
As a successful hotelier, you are “expected to have staff who are clean, honest, quick workers, quick thinkers, be on the boss’ side and the guests side.” Staff are expected to foster happy and satisfied customers who yearn to return. Bob was excellent in developing that team of Little Bay service professionals delivering memorable quality service experiences.
Little Bay was the go-to place on weekends. St. Maarten’s greatest entertainers at the time such as Ray Anthony Thomas and Jan Matser worked there seven nights a week. The Rolling Stones and Creole stars were there on a regular basis in the ’70s and locals were more than welcome. Bob’s management style created the perfect balance for guest convenience and local traffic.
Bob co-founded the St. Maarten Hotel Association and we met on a rotating basis at several Hotels until Mike Ferrier, President of SHA, and I opened the SHA offices in Philipsburg in 1983 and employed the first Director, Marjean Rougier. After having served as President of SHA for a number of years, Bob remained as a Caribbean Hotel Association Director. Under Bob’s direction and encouragement, St. Maarten had the highest number of attending Hotels at the Caribbean Marketplace, earning St. Maarten a complimentary booth on two occasions. Bob believed in gathering occupancy statistics on a monthly basis from member Hotels.
Similar to St. Maarten having Emil Lee as Caribbean Hotel Association President recently, I was very proud when Bob was nominated as “Hotelier of the year”. Both Bob and Emil were first in both categories for St. Maarten. Bob is the only person on St. Maarten to be given that coveted award and Emil Lee was the first President from St. Maarten.
St. Maarten’s history must reflect that Bob was the go-to man for Clem Labega, Claude Wathey, Sam Hazel, Julian Conner and Rupert Maynard. As the go-to man for the planned Westermeyer development at the site where Belair Beach Hotel sits, Bob was handpicked to head the Bilderberg group, when the economic conditions were no longer favorable for St. Maarten.
As the youngsters say: Bob was THE man in the Hotel industry of St. Maarten locally and regionally. He contributed to my salesmanship development in filling rooms and most important I learnt from him how to develop loyal repeat clients. Bob’s mannerism and gentleman-ship are additional attributes that Bob possessed that I will always remember, besides his singing and dancing abilities.
To his family, I extend my heart-felt and deepest sympathy for his loss. The gentleman was without question a giant in the Hospitality industry of St. Maarten. Bob’s contribution to St. Maarten’s tourism development must be anchored in the history of St. Maarten.
Keith D. Franca
