Q & A with Lance Parrish, General Manager of Hedonism III Hotel

How long have you been running this hotel and how long has the property been in operation?I’ve been in the hotel and tourism industry in Jamaica for 31 years. As to my background education and training in hotel management, I studied in England for a few years and came back here to work for SuperClubs quite a few years. Now I’ve been working in Hedonism III, which is located in Runaway Bay, and this is the younger of the two Hedonism properties. I happened to be at the Hedonism II when we opened it back in the early 1980s. That was the first all-inclusive hotel in Jamaica at that point.

How many rooms does the Hedonism III hotel have?
The resort is made up of 225 rooms, including 15 suites, very special rooms, and there’re lots of activities because that’s what the resort’s concept revolves around. We hype entertainment through night and day at the property. So, the place doesn’t go to sleep until 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning.

What’s the resort’s main line of clientele and how do you reel it in?
As far as Hedonism II is concerned, there’s been a longstanding repeat clientele and that’s something we’ve also achieved a repeat clientele here through good, top-quality service. We cater to a target market of 25-to-45-year old customers on average, very diversified, cosmopolitan guests who come from all over the world.

There’s a likeness to come here. We have room blocks which are referred to as the Quad which is surrounds the swimming pool in which is a popular meeting place for all guests. That’s something that makes this property so unique. There’s a sense of inhibition at first but there’s always a cooling-off or cooling-down period in which you get used to the concept. Usually by the second day guests are way ahead, very relaxed. More than ready, I’d say.

We’re very proud of what we deliver as our repeat guests have a feeling of belonging in the sense of a family here. There are lots of people who make great friends here and they come back again and again.

Something that happens at the Hedonism concept is that we also create events, so whenever we do not have groups or there’s no special event happening, we create events for our guests. Every week there’s always something to tap into.

On the SuperClubs website, you can check out the schedule of events at Hedonism III by typing into “entertainment” on the website page and it’ll show you all the event programming up to the month of March next year and the details of what the events include. On http://www.hedonism.com/, people can enter the chat room and speak on the kind of vacations that they had or tell people that they’re going or what’s going on, and get feedback of what they think about their being there, their vacation experience and anything that’s new and happening at the resort.

What about the food?
We’re very proud of the food. People think we have a good variety based on three specialty restaurants, Japanese Italian and Jamaican cuisine plus many bars, a nightclub, a piano bar.

What other conveniences and facilities do you have at the resort?
We have a gym, a four storey waterslide that goes through the nightclub into the main swimming pool, the only one of its kind on the island and that’s quite entertaining for many people. Generally there’re so many places to go just to relax or hide out, or cool out. We have a wedding gazebo area, one on the beach.

We always say there’re ten top reasons as to why you can book Hedonism III. One of them is the adult playground that allows everybody to be themselves, not worrying at all about what’s happening in life, get out, relax and throw your inhibitions away. At the resort you can make new friends and catch up with your old friends, and the entertainment is the best on the island, I’d say, because it’s always 24 hours and there’s always something happening around the resort. There’re groups who book the resort and bringing their own entertainment and people who are at the resort can also benefit from it.

There’re many theme nights, pajama nights and world-class performances and special events to choose from. Just go to the website and you’ll find plenty of information in it.

Can people staying at Hedonism III make use of the golf course?
Yes. The golf course is available to our guests. For a nominal fee of US$56 green fees and transfers are provided. There is an extra charge if one requires a cart and a caddy. Another unique element of this property is that our guests can go to the next-door Breezes hotel and vice versa, and this can be done at no extra cost except for transfer to and from each property. The distance between the two resorts is only five minutes.

Can those guests also make use of the different facilities and conveniences the Breezes resort has to offer?
Yes, the restaurants, the bars and all public guest facilities.

What are the major differences between Hedonism II and Hedonism III?
The resorts are very similar in concept including the nightly theme parties such as Toga, Masquerade and Pajama nights. One of the major differences is that Hedonism II is located on the Western section of the island on the 7 mile beach stretch while we are located on the North Coast in Runaway Bay. Hedonism III rooms are appointed with Roman Jacuzzis as a standard feature and are very spacious. Hedonism II opened its doors 26 years ago while we will be celebrating our 10th Anniversary in the week of September 14, 2009.

What are the main differences between guests staying at Hedonism II and your guests?
In keeping with the target market we generally cater to people who are new to this lifestyle so we do have a young crowd that supports us.

What about differences in activities between the two of them?
There are no major differences in the daily and nightly activities. Our coordinators are very talented and deliver a fun filled experience to our guests.

Is it possible for a guest staying at Hedonism II to switch to Hedonism III to spend a few nights there and get to know the place?
It’s very much so and it all depends on whether there’s availability to do so. Whenever there’s interest in seeing or touring the other side, we can always arrange that as long as there’s availability of rooms.

What singles out the Hedonism concept from other competitors around the world?
I would say it’s the entertainment. Entertainment at the Hedonism resorts is night and day; a true adult playground.

What kind of guests stay at your resort?
The regular lifestyle is the kind of people who’d like to meet each other and become friends. The resort caters to couples and singles or groups.

What are the top European markets for your resort?
England, Germany and Russia are the three biggest supporters within the European market. We’d certainly like to see more people coming out of Spain because that’s quite a big market to tap into, as well as France. Right now we’re starting to tap into the European market because we know there’s a lot out there in the niche market for what we call the adult-style playground.

Do you apply different marketing policies for the brands?
Yes because our product is unique.