Bay Gardens Resorts Staff Covid-19 Relief Fund

The COVID-19 pandemic has unprecedentedly disrupted all our lives. For the past 25 years, Bay Gardens Resorts has been Saint Lucia’s largest locally owned and operated hotel chain. Much, if not all, of our success can be attributed to our 300-plus employees and our guests who we consider an extension of our family. We are grateful that all our employees and majority of population of St. Lucia has been spared from the virus itself. However, as you all know, the economic fall out of this pandemic has affected everyone, including some of you, our valued guests. 

The Bay Gardens management team and the Destang family take great pride in placing our employees and guests first. With the COVID-19 travel restrictions and the government-mandated scale-down of non-essential business activity, it became clear in mid-March that we would need to temporarily suspend operations and that many of our employees would be negatively impacted.

To help cushion this impact we implemented the following for the month of April at a cost of US $100,000 despite operating with no source of revenue for the month of April: 

 · Income Support for All Employees: All employees received a minimum of 50% of their base salary, up to a maximum of 75%.

· Continuation of Health Insurance Benefits: We have covered the entire cost of employees’ health insurance plans for the month of April and will be continuing this for the foreseeable future.

· Focus on Employees’ Emotional Health and Safety: It is the belief of many experts that the coronavirus disease will have as much an impact on personal mental and emotional well-being as it will on physical health. We have, therefore, secured counselling services for any employee upon request.

For the months of May and June, the Government of Saint Lucia, through the National Insurance Corporation (NIC), will provide Income Support to employees who have lost their income as a result of COVID-19. Bay Gardens has made arrangements to administer these payments to affected staff on behalf of NIC.  

However, even with the income support that we have provided or facilitated; our staff are still going to be severely impacted. Virtually all of them would have suffered major incomes losses for the months of April through June with no guarantee of a resumption of normality after June.  

These are indeed unprecedented times, and the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the entire world from a health and economic standpoint. 

St. Lucia and Bay Gardens are certainly not immune to these hardships. 

With this background, we are graciously reaching out to secure donations that will go directly to our 300+  employees and the people who depend on them.   

Any amount helps; however, we will reward those of you who donate at least US$100 with a gift voucher of equivalent value that can be used towards a future stay at any Bay Gardens Resorts property. 

The following terms and conditions apply: 

1.The minimum donation will need to be US$100 to qualify for the gift voucher. We appreciate donations of any amount, but only contributions of US$100 and over can be used towards a future stay at Bay Gardens Beach Resort & Spa, Bay Gardens Hotel, Bay Gardens Inn, Bay Gardens Marina Haven or Waters Edge Villas. 

2.You must book your vacation via our website www.baygardensresorts.com or with our call center.  

 
3.The minimum stay is three (3) nights  


4.You can book your stay for any time between June 1, 2020 and December 19, 2021 (blackout dates apply, please contact [email redacted] for details) 

5.The maximum credit towards a future stay is $250. If more is donated, we will greatly appreciate it, however only the first US$250 can be applied towards your future stay.

6. This applies to new bookings/reservations only and can only be applied to accommodation charges and not incidentals (F&B and Spa).

The funds raised will go a long way towards supplementing the income of our staff in the short- to medium-term so they can continue to support their families.

We are hoping to resume normal operations on June 4, 2020 but will be guided by local and international public health officials and tourism authorities.

Our team is looking forward to welcoming you back to St. Lucia and to Bay Gardens Resorts when the time is right. For now, stay safe and stay healthy so that we can all #traveltomorrow.  

From the bottom of our hearts, the management team and the Destang family thank you for your care, concern, and generosity.