Roy Sanford and Monique Hepburn, Staff Reporters

WESTERN BUREAU:

WITH HURRICANE Ivan on course for Jamaica, Godfrey Dyer, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), said that existing emergency plans are being activated in hotels across the island.

"Hotels are taking every precaution to ensure that their guests and staff are safe," he told The Gleaner yesterday. "They have also introduced a new plan wherein prospective guests who have rescheduled their booking will not be penalised as the penalties will be waived."

REDUCED RATES FOR GUESTS

He said guests will be allowed to book at another time and marooned guests will be allowed to stay at hotels at reduced rates.

According to Mr. Dyer, who is also managing director of the Wexford Court Hotel in Montego Bay, his guests appear unconcerned about the impending storm. "Nobody is showing any signs of anxiety," he said.

Meanwhile in St. Elizabeth, which is still recovering from a near brush with Hurricane Charley, Yvonne Clarke, resident manager of Jakes Hotels and Villas, said that at least two guests have cancelled their scheduled stay at the establishment, while others have decided "to ride out the storm", regarding it as an adventure.

"The hotel itself was boarded up in preparation for (Hurricane) Charley so we don't have much preparatory work to do," she said.

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