Blue Cave Castle

We had originally booked four days on the beach, and five on the cliffs, but our beach reservation fell through. We've got five days at Home Sweet Home, and my other half wanted to stay at blue cave. I sent reservation requests through the website, but haven't heard back from them yet. I tried calling the phone number on the website, but I'm not able to get through. I keep getting an error message. This is kind of freaking me out since I can't contact them. Anyone staying there that knows what's going on? I'd be fine trying to extend our stay at Home Sweet Home, but it would be nice to know what the scoop is.....

Extend your stay at Home Sweet Home if you can. We were there last week and it was awesome. I originally booked at Blue Cave but ended up cancelling because I heard they closed the restaurant and other 'drama'. In their defense they refunded my $200 deposit which they didn't have to do. You will be good either way but HSH for sure is a nice spot and the staff and owner are really great people.

Are you calling 957-4845? When are you going? If it were me I'd probably just play it by ear when I got there since you're already booked for five days at HSH. If you're going in feb, you might want to keep trying, as things can be booked up. It can occasionally be tough to get ahold of BCC on the phone, just fyi.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TAH

Are you calling 957-4845? When are you going? If it were me I'd probably just play it by ear when I got there since you're already booked for five days at HSH. If you're going in feb, you might want to keep trying, as things can be booked up. It can occasionally be tough to get ahold of BCC on the phone, just fyi.

---

That's the number I've been trying. Is it normal to get an error message though? I understand if it would actually ring and they were just busy or away from the phone. That noise you hear is me screaming in frustration. I so need to get on island chill time

Sorry to hear that. New staff at the Castle. If you're going soon, I'd start looking at other places if you can't extend at HSH. We usually stay at the Castle, but we're trying something different this year.

Mara, no that's not normal to get an error message, unless you forgot to dial a "1" first...
Julie, are Santo, Michael, and Wint still there?

Santa
Regards,
Bob

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rjonsun

Santa
Regards,
Bob

---

Interesting
Petrona is gone and Heather is in charge
info@bluecavecastle.com
try that link

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rjonsun

Santa
Regards,
Bob

---

Well ****. I've been calling him Santo for a long time now. Thanks.

Is he still there? How about Michael and Wint?

The number to BCC is 876 957 4845.....you will not have any issues...Now you have the correct phone number

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by negrilbound

The number to BCC is 876 957 4845.....you will not have any issues...Now you have the correct phone number

---

I listed that number above, and they said that's the number they have been calling.

That is the number we called, and also sent an email, but answer on either. Oh well, we ended up booking at Travellors for those 4 nights. Which actually worked out for the good since we wanted to split our time between the cliffs and the beach. Thanks to everyone for all the help!

I just looked at the BCC website and it looks like there are no rooms rented for quite a while. Did I miss something? I know it is almost slow season but I have never seen it this empty.

I noticed that a few days ago, I'm assuming it's just "under construction" or something (the site). I know they have a new manager there now, maybe that has something to do with it? I'd be interested to hear if anyone knows otherwise...

Just got back from Negril last week. The Blue Cave Castle was closed. I don't know what the future holds, but it was closed as of last week.

Crap. That's a huge bummer. I selfishly hope they re-open. Love that place.

If I win the lottery tonight I'm going to buy the castle and the empty lot between it and Home Sweet Home :cool:

Kent, there are a lot of us that share that dream!

Susan mentioned to us that she was thinking of closing this low season. Not surprised.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kevin, PA

Susan mentioned to us that she was thinking of closing this low season. Not surprised.

---

That would be a swell thing to update their webpage with. It still lets you reserve and takes money even.

They usually don't run the card until they have communicated with you directly, so while you can still complete the reservation form I doubt it will bill through.

Sure. But why not update your webpage and communicate what is going on? We'll see soon enough I guess.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Odinson

Sure. But why not update your webpage and communicate what is going on? We'll see soon enough I guess.

---

hahahaha. update a web page. hahahaha.

maybe updated with something to the effect of:

"Notice:
It is my intention to
update this website
at the next session
of HTML"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MikeyNYC

hahahaha. update a web page. hahahaha.

maybe updated with something to the effect of:

"Notice:
It is my intention to
update this website
at the next session
of HTML"

---

LOL, yup! You will find that many small businesses in Jamaica do not employ the latest methods in web technology. And that includes updating content.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike_D

LOL, yup! You will find that many small businesses in Jamaica do not employ the latest methods in web technology. And that includes updating content.

---

All true. The room rate page must be easy to update, that seems to happen every year.

Marketing, advertising and general communications seems to be lost on many of the business owners in Negril. I see so many places, especially on the west end, that could benefit from some additional signage and some well maintained social media\web sites. In the tourism industry, your web presence is the first impression most potential customers are going to get about your business. Next they need to be able to find the business once they are there. It seems as if many businesses have the impression that customers "just happen".

Kevin, you sound like Anthony Melchiori from Hotel Impossible.


...oh, wait - that already happened. {grin}

Attachment 45678

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike_D

Kevin, you sound like Anthony Melchiori from Hotel Impossible.


...oh, wait - that already happened. {grin}

Attachment 45678

---

??? tell me more!

Mikey...when Anthony was in Negril doing his show a couple of years back, he and Rob got along famously. Anthony was so impressed with what Rob is doing and is trying to do in Negril that he wanted Rob to be part of his show...thus the pic.

Kevin...I understand your frustration, but if you listen very carefully to the show 'Hotel Impossible' while they were in Negril...they actually address the issues that frustrate you...but you really have to listen carefully.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MikeyNYC

??? tell me more!

---

What Bnewb said.

Basically, Anthony found that the Gardenia Resort had a cr@ppy (if not nonexistent) web presence. He then went to Rob who offered to build them a website, host it and advertise them for free on Negril.com.

I don't know if you can stream the whole episode, but there are many clips available on the Hotel Impossible website.

There are many products available out on the Internet that are a Reservation Management/Room Inventory and Billing package. We have been using one here for a few years that is FREE and quite easy to manage. In this day and age you don't have to keep reinventing the wheel every time you want to do something that someone else already does. Any Web Site can add a "Book Now" button and redirect reservation seekers on to an active inventory management site that will handle the whole process no matter where you are in the world.

We use http://www.freetobook.com but there are many, many others.

Peace and Guidance

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike_D

What Bnewb said.

Basically, Anthony found that the Gardenia Resort had a cr@ppy (if not nonexistent) web presence. He then went to Rob who offered to build them a website, host it and advertise them for free on Negril.com.

I don't know if you can stream the whole episode, but there are many clips available on the Hotel Impossible website.

---

Cool. I'll have to check that out.
Yes, Rob's commitment to Negril seems second to none compared to anything I've come across. But we all know this already. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MikeyNYC

maybe updated with something to the effect of:

"Notice:
It is my intention to
update this website
at the next session
of HTML"

---

Good one! Love it :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bnewb

Kevin...I understand your frustration, but if you listen very carefully to the show 'Hotel Impossible' while they were in Negril...they actually address the issues that frustrate you...but you really have to listen carefully.

---

Not really a frustrating issue for me other than the lost potential I see.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kevin, PA

Not really a frustrating issue for me other than the lost potential I see.

---

Agree with ya brother. I hate seeing seeing small resort suffering or abandoned. seeing the mega resorts taken over. But hey it brings more jobs for Jamaicans and more tourist coming in to Negril.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kevin, PA

Marketing, advertising and general communications seems to be lost on many of the business owners in Negril. I see so many places, especially on the west end, that could benefit from some additional signage and some well maintained social media\web sites. In the tourism industry, your web presence is the first impression most potential customers are going to get about your business. Next they need to be able to find the business once they are there. It seems as if many businesses have the impression that customers "just happen".

---

Kevin,

This a rather complex issue that I have been dealing with since I came up with the idea for Negril.com back in 1993. There are many reasons that contribute to your impression, which is pretty much on the mark. I have watched businesses come and go, others succeed over the years.

Other than the long, established places, many of the businesses in Negril are now owned and operated by those raised by their parents and grandparents in the tourism industry. Back in the early years, most businesses simply put up a sign and that was their entire marketing effort. There was not much competition so they didnt need to worry about marketing or advertising. The Chamber's Negril Guide was the only marketing vehicle for years for those already visiting in Negril. There was no international advertising available. So this early mindset did not really start to change until well into the 1990's.

The new business owners still remember how their parents and grandparents conducted business, but quickly realize that putting up a sign is just the beginning of their marketing efforts. For the most part, since they generally are in their 30 to 50's, most had no experience with computers in school. Schools did not begin to have computers until the early 2000's. So email and the Internet are not their strong suits.

Since I started Negril.com back in 1995, things began to slowly change. There was now a way to advertise to those who had not visited Negril yet. But the lack of computer and internet experience gave rise to new issues. People with good intentions as well as pure charlatans took advantage of this lack of knowledge.

In an online interview on another Jamaica website, when I was asked. "What really irks you though Rob?", I replied:

"Although this has been an absolutely wonderful past 16 years, probably the main thing that irks me are the people who make outrageous claims about their websites. These fly by night websites can often look fancy on the front pages, and many try to take credit or claim for what Negril.com has done. They make unrealistic promises to the businesses in Negril and often charge outlandish fees for these promises. Then, after these sites don't deliver, I am left here to try and repair the damage done, not only to the businesses but also to Negril.com."

It has seemed since 1995 that every couple years, another person comes to Negril and makes websites for businesses with no help or instructions for additional marketing. Having a website does not promise that anyone will see it. And some of the people over the years have been "cyber squatters", who set up the site, then ask an outrageous fee should the business want to have someone else work on the site. I have assisted more businesses than I can count getting their sites back as there are now many qualified web designers in the area.

Today, I received a call from a tour operator who had a "friend" in foreign set them up a website for "free", in exchange for free transportation when they arrive to the island. After two years, they have not received any business from their website. It was next to invisible on the search engines. If you dont have the exact website name, it doesnt seem to appear at all. He recently told his friend that he no longer wants to deal with the free transportation and today his friend has removed the site and replaced it with the "Under Construction" page. We will be getting him back up and running with a marketable website in the next few weeks, one way or another.

The above issue also has been happening with other people who promise to set up a Facebook page for free in exchange for a free stay, meals, transportation, etc. As anyone on Facebook knows, if you dont already know the business by name, finding it by chance is just that, a chance. I see some business owners so caught up with updating their Facebook page that specials or deals they are offering is only known by those who happen to follow their Facebook page. They spend hours a day on Facebook, and the return on the time invested is next to nothing. For instance, a hotel in Negril with about 2800 "Likes" or followers on Facebook has had an average of 1.3 people per day see their posts. Less than 2 out of 2800 is a very low percentage, bordering on zero.

The "Fun Holiday" thread posted just about 2 hours ago already has over 70 views. And that is in less than 2 hours! Facebook is great to keep in touch with your friends, but as a business marketing model it leaves much to be desired. It really only can benefit those who already know your business, not in attracting new business. So, although hopefully done with the best of intentions, a "free" Facebook page is worth about that much.

I know this sounds like shameless self promotion, but teaching true marketing is something that Negril.com has been doing since the beginning. Unfortunately, the lure of getting something for "free" is quite enticing. And there are so many people who visit Negril and make offers such as the above that it is hard not to accept them. I am sure some of you have seen the multiple websites and Facebook pages for some businesses and may wonder why a business would do that. Now you know how that can happen.

I wish things were different, but those are just a few of the issues that has contributed to your accurate take on the matter.

As someone who doesn't use Facebook regularly, I agree that it isn't well suited for marketing. It's inexpensive, but that's all it has going for it. If I have to go to Facebook to ascertain the info I'm seeking, I'm more likely to just go to a competitor with a proper website.