BONAIRE, Dutch Caribbean—Harbour Village Bonaire has had fewer guests amid the pandemic, which has led to some positives for the eco-conscious hotel.
In an interview with Hotel News Now on 24 September, Jessica Gonzalez, marketing director at Harbour Village Bonaire, said natural flora has returned to the coral reef that the hotel maintains as well as seahorses because the water is quieter with fewer tourists.
Gonzalez added that the property also had a turtle nest on its beach this year, which has only happened five or six times.
Sustainability in a pandemic environment
Since the hotel welcomes both guests and residents, it never closed its doors, Isabel Cristina Fernandez, front office manager at Harbour Village Bonaire, said via email on 20 October.
The island reopened to countries including The Netherlands and Belgium on 1 July and has welcomed some guests since. But Fernandez said having fewer guests on property has allowed the hotel to make modifications to its restaurant and “perform annual maintenance around the resort to prepare for an even better experience for future guests.”
Harbour Village Bonaire features a stream of its coral reef cam on the hotel’s website. (Screen grab: Danielle Hess)
“Eco-friendly initiatives have always been at the forefront of our operations and the pandemic hasn’t changed this key focus. With every new amenity or feature of the resort, we look for ways to launch such in a manner that is rooted in one of our core values of sustainability and conservation,” she said. “Getting back to nature is already trending as a key focus travelers are looking for.
“If anything, we believe that the history and deep understanding of what it takes to provide guests with not only an eco-friendly but an eco-regenerative experience will separate us from the rest who might be just starting to offer something along these lines.”
About the hotel
Harbour Village, which is set on a private beach in Bonaire, has always been committed to preserving natural resources on the island, Gonzalez said. The property founded The Harbour Village Reef Foundation in 2016 and garnered support from outside organizations and local youth groups to maintain the reef.
The hotel also offers guests a way to get involved with coral restoration initiatives by adopting coral and following the progress, she said.
According to the hotel’s website, Harbour Village is the only hotel in the world that has a two-pronged approach to coral preservation, using an electrified reef and traditional coral transplantation techniques.
The hotel also has an underwater research camera, which can be viewed on the hotel’s website. The property partnered with Teens4Oceans and Gulliver Schools in Miami to bring the camera to life.
“The camera measures pH, temperature and salinity and offers local and non-local students field research experience as well as greater opportunities for students to partner with professional marine science mentors,” the website states.