By: Staff Writer
October 11, 2022
A Jamaican born hotelier in Barbados is looking to hire up to 20 people at his new venture in St Lawrence Gap, a boutique hotel that will supply one, two and three bedroom apartments to fill a void in the market.
Dwayne Anthony Johnson, owner/operator of the Best Location Rentals (BLR) Beach Resort, said in an audio sent to Caribbean Magazine Plus, that: “We’re going to focus on a niche market and it is going to be a little family boutique hotel. We have from studio apartments to one bedroom apartments, two bedroom and three bedroom apartments.”
He added: “A lot of hotels in St Lawrence Gap’s area doesn’t have a two bedroom apartments and doesn’t have a three bedroom apartments. So that would be like something new to this area where a customer who’s traveling as a family can benefit from.”
The BLR Beach Resort is looking to hire up to 20 people all from within Barbados.
Mr Johnson grew up in a small fishing village called Whitehouse in the parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica. As a youth he used to listen to BBC radio broadcasts and dream of travelling to countries he would hear about. After attending a vocational training center he decided to go into the tourism industry. He wanted to work at the front desk but was grateful when he secured waiter a job at Sandals Resorts as he had little experience.
He worked hard and steadily through the years and became Head of Butler Services and Restaurant Manager at Sandals Barbados 2014.
“I always wanted to wear a suit and tie. Very few got that opportunity. It was something I used to keep telling my Uncle. It was always a dream back in those days in Whitehouse. Things were tough and I wanted my parents not to have to struggle financially anymore.” said Dwayne
BLR began with just one property at the Dover House. When Dwayne first started he was living at the Dover House and renting spare rooms to Airbnb guests. At times he would even rent his own room and sleep on the couch or a tent in the front yard. He currently manages 23 properties. Dwayne was BLR and he worked tirelessly to build a solid foundation. He has travelled the world extensively in order to understand various cultures and tourist experiences.
He met Mercedes whom he subsequently married. She worked with him from the start in the operation and now holds the position of Executive Assistant. From this small start he expanded and built the Dover Beach House Studio. He had the vision to further expand and purchased spare cars for rentals, offered island tours, taxi service for guest transport and launched the Barbados Airbnb and Local Experiences Facebook group. In the beginning Dwayne was a one man operation often even cleaning places himself to save costs no job was beneath him he was humble and hardworking.
BLR the company had five properties. The Dover House, Braddies Studio, Miami Beach House, Michelin, and one other property. Additionally, he had already started a commission based venture with two properties regarding providing these properties to guests in exchange for a commission. A practice still utilized today. The Facebook group at this time had just over 1,000 members.
The company went from 5 properties to the current ever Inventory of 47 listings on Airbnb which includes two hotel listings. It is still expanding. Dwayne and his wife created an updated logo, website, expanded properties, renovated, designed, organized books, started documents for leases, drafted formal business agreements, and created business partnerships. Dwayne attended and completed his certificate for a real estate agent.
As the business expanded, so did the family, company and employees. The Johnson family now includes a baby girl the couple has named Ari. What started as just Dwayne then Mercedes became a much larger company.
His wife Mercedes describes herself as, “his silent partner, his right hand.”
Mercedes said, “My tasking is and always has been varied. In the beginning like Dwayne no task was too small for the first year I was the only housekeeper, I cleaned cars, designed logos, launched the BLR website, drafted and created documents for customers and business partners, painted whole properties, fixed minor issues, guest relations, check ins/check outs, bank deposits, accounting, organizing, and much more. We were BLR. It was a 365 day job 24/7.”
She added, “I oversee BLR business expansion into overseas markets and consult with Dwayne regarding higher level business ventures. I will be assisting with items where needed as directed by Dwayne for oversight on operations, marketing, accounting, design, and customer relations.” Dwayne Anthony Johnson describes his resort concept as, “one that provides vacationing for families with options that are not currently available in St Lawrence Gap and a source of job creation.”
