A worker checking the badly damaged Jake’s Hotel in Treasure Beach, on Jamaica’s southwestern shore. In the wake of damage wrought by Category 5 Hurricane Melissa in October, officials in Jamaica – a country where tourism accounts for nearly a third of economy – are rushing to reopen dozens of hotels in time to salvage the vital winter travel season. — Erin Schaff/The New York Times
WITH power still out more than a week after a powerful hurricane tore through western Jamaica, Kellanie Kerr stood in the dark at the stifling souvenir shop in Negril where she works, waving a fan at her lone customer.
She tried to “guesstimate” just how dependent Negril – a beach town on Jamaica’s far west coast – is on tourism.
“From a scale of one to 10? 10,” she said. “Or maybe 100, because that’s what we use here to survive.”
Kerr is among hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans whose livelihoods depend directly or indirectly on tourism, the backbone of the island’s economy.
Houston Moncure looking out from an upper floor of the severely damaged Bluefields Bay Villas, a resort he owns with his family, in Westmoreland, Jamaica.
When a major storm makes landfall, the damage ripples far beyond broken roofs and flooded roads, threatening jobs, wages and entire communities.
The hurricane, Jamaica’s first of the most severe category, killed dozens, damaged vast numbers of homes and buildings, and delivered a heavy blow to the tourism industry, which accounts for nearly one-third of the country’s economy.
Hotels along the west and south-west coasts bore the brunt of the storm’s fierce winds and torrential rain.
In the aftermath, authorities and hotel operators moved quickly to assess damage and begin reopening rooms, aware that Jamaica’s winter travel season is critical not just for profits but for national recovery.
Some hotels remained without electricity or running water. Others were too badly damaged to operate at all.
Yet many properties escaped major harm, and tourism officials stressed that large parts of the island remained intact and ready to receive visitors.
Jarrett inspecting a section of missing roof at his Altamont West Hotel in Montego Bay. — Erin Schaff/The New York Times
“If you want to support us, visit us,” became a refrain repeated by officials and hotel managers alike – a message aimed at reassuring travellers and sustaining everyone from street vendors and taxi drivers to housekeepers and resort owners.
Damage was most severe along the south-western shoreline, while destinations elsewhere fared better.
Ocho Rios, a major tourism hub on the north coast, saw little impact. In Montego Bay, Jamaica’s most popular tourist city, some hotels were damaged, but others were largely spared, with authorities prioritising the restoration of power and water to speed reopening.
Negril, despite prolonged power outages, saw many of its hotels escape structural damage.
Large resort operators faced difficult decisions.
Sandals, the Jamaica-based company with multiple all-inclusive resorts across the island, reopened several properties while keeping others closed for extended repairs, including its flagship hotel in Montego Bay.
Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s minister of tourism, said the industry lost tens of millions of dollars in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
A significant share of hotels sustained some level of damage, and a smaller number will remain closed for years as repairs and rebuilding continue.
“Two-thirds is still active and productive,” Bartlett said, emphasising that much of the island remained operational. “But the impact has been concentrated in the west.”
That concentration matters. While Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, was largely untouched, it is not a beach destination and does not drive tourism in the same way as coastal resort towns.
Christopher Jarrett, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, said a hotel’s ability to reopen often hinges less on physical damage than on access to basic utilities.
“You can repair walls and roofs,” he said. “But without water and power, you can’t operate.”
Jarrett, who owns hotels in Montego Bay, sits on a task force aimed at cutting bureaucracy and accelerating recovery.
He noted that while Jamaica’s tourism industry was nearly paralysed during the Covid-19 pandemic, utilities remained intact then – a crucial difference.
“Right now, it’s not a pretty sight on the west coast,” he said.
In Treasure Beach, on the island’s south coast, Jason Henzell, owner of the family-run Jakes Hotel, surveyed rooms smashed by waves and wind.
“I have never seen concrete bend in a hurricane before,” he said, gesturing towards shattered oceanfront suites.
Roughly a third of his rooms were usable, another third badly damaged and the rest severely compromised.
Still, Henzell planned to reopen partially, buoyed by loyal guests who called to say they would come – some even offering to bring power tools.
“It’s essential for people to know Jamaica is open for business,” said Henzell, who chairs the south coast chapter of the hotel association.
Even hotels that escaped major damage faced another challenge: many employees had lost their homes.
At Sandals properties hit hardest by the storm, more than half of the staff were displaced, according to company executives.
For hotels across western Jamaica, recovery has meant not only repairing buildings but also helping workers rebuild their lives.
Jeremy Jones, Sandals’ regional managing director, said the company would use the disruption to strengthen properties against future storms.
“You don’t want to put a product that’s not 100% back on the market,” he said. “You damage your brand more than anything else.”
That includes rethinking construction itself.
“Definitely different kinds of roofs,” Jones said. “The slab roofs that stay on – we’re probably going to do more of those.” — ©2026 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times
