Over-water Hotels: Are They Sustainable?

In the race to win the tourism dollar there is always an ambition by providers to deliver something unique; something new and distinctive that seeks to go beyond a competitor’s offerings elsewhere. Because nations across the Caribbean are already replete with beachfront villas and hotels, it is almost impossible to beat the views and ambiance of a room looking out onto the shore.

But for some providers, their goal of going one better has seen them take to the seas, setting up over-water hotels (OWHs) that allow tourists to sleep above the water without the motion that comes with a boat. OWHs offer a number of advantages over their land-based competition but how financially viable are they? And how sustainable are they in an era when climate change is posing new threats to land and sea?

Taking to the Water

Today, OWHs are regularly eyed across many postcards, mobile phone backgrounds and, of course, tourism advertisements. While as permanent accommodations on water they are unquestionably visually stunning, they are also great achievements of strategic vision and engineering. The OWH concept owes its origins to the pioneering efforts of Californian Jay Carlisle and two friends on the small island of Ra’iâtea in French Polynesia. The entrepreneurial trio, who moved to Tahiti in the late 1950s, were trying to attract tourists but the lack of sand meant that building beachfront accommodation wasn’t an option. Initially constructing three humble rooms on stilts, they wrote the first chapter of a tourism revolution.

In 1970 the Hotel Bora Bora corporatised the OWH idea, and thereafter hotel after hotel that had the means looked to take advantage of the idyllic accommodation concept. Today there are some 170 OWHs in the world, all owing their origin to three expats with a dream, on a little island in the South Pacific.

OWHs Come to the Caribbean

A local version of the OWH concept was long in the planning. It was not until 2016 that the Caribbean got its first entry in a range of OWHs with the December 1st, 2016 opening of the Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Those who have stayed at a beachfront villa will know the fantastic feeling of waking up and seeing the ocean. For anyone yet to make a trip to an OWH, there is not only the obvious appeal of a first class view of the waves, but many other attractions beyond.

An OWH can offer 360 degree views of the ocean. They can offer glass-bottom floors to give access to the world’s greatest aquarium. And for snorkelers and scuba divers, there is no better accommodation than a room that lets you start the morning by jumping right into the water on your doorstep.

Just the same, the reality is that OWHs — because they are so enticing — are classified as luxury accommodation, with a price tag accordingly. With an overnight stay at the Saint Lucia Sandals Grande Resort at time of writing costing well north of US$1,500, one night could cost more than a whole week staying in 4-star accommodation on shore, with a price per night of US$159-$286 found across the nation. However fantastic the OWH concept is, the rate is too high for someone backpacking through the region, or seeking accommodation that leverages the value found in the era of Airbnb. For this reason, it’s no surprise that the market for OWHs targets honeymooners in particular, seeking a ‘once in a lifetime’ holiday, alongside regular luxury travellers.

The Changing Tides

To some extent, OWHs have some immunity from the rising sea levels that climate change could bring. For any hotelier or developer currently considering a new hotel in the region, OWHs not only offer a unique drawcard, but also some ‘future-proofing’ against the threat of climate change.

OWHs are built to provide guests with a feeling of closeness and easy access to the ocean. If they are built too high above the water, this feeling can be diminished. There is also the issue of supporting infrastructure. Many OWHs have lower level balconies, sundecks, and other amenities such as swimming pools that sit just above the sea’s surface. Many feature ladders and stairs that provide direct access to the water and are often partly submerged in them. Rising sea levels pose a risk to this infrastructure, and can mean a costly construction bill to alter in time ahead as seas rise. This to say nothing of the natural disasters, like a hurricane, that can wreak havoc to an OWH site, the same as they can to a beachfront one.

Over and Under

Just as OWHs have enjoyed great popularity around the world since their origins in French Polynesia, the popularity of underwater hotels (UHs) is growing globally. Already, Dubai, the Maldives and Sweden have made notable inroads in bringing underwater hotels into the mainstream. Yet the expense of construction and ongoing maintenance is not insignificant when compared to costs for a hotel on land. 

Nonetheless, for existing hotels and future constructions alike, any expansion alongside the water, instead of in the water, must come with a faith that a global consensus on climate change action will ultimately emerge soon and, in turn, that the damage already being done by climate change can be halted. Given that hotels are built not just for the years but for decades ahead, that faith could be overshadowed by doubt when decisions are required today.

By no means will all future Caribbean resorts need to include an OWH, or even UH, component. But alongside the appeal and offering of something truly dynamic is a recognition that such constructions in future could not only be sustainable against the surrounding seas, should they change further, but also against declining profitability in the sector as a result of it, especially if, as more and more water-based hotels go up, the average room rates, in turn, go down.