On Oct. 28, Reliant Destinations founder and CEO Addison Jaynes was watching the feed from cameras in his Montego Bay office as Hurricane Melissa barreled toward Jamaica.
Addison Jaynes
A few hours before the worst of the Category 5 hurricane, he saw curtains from a window fly across the room. Then, nothing.
The cameras had gone offline.
It would take nearly three days for Jaynes, who is based in Dallas, to re-establish contact with his employees, whose welfare was his primary concern. The office, which he later learned was ruined, was a secondary thought.
"It was a very frightening time, but we feel very thankful that all are safe," Jaynes said.
Hurricane Melissa's Oct. 28 landfall in Jamaica wreaked havoc on the island, leaving the most affected properties closed until next spring and travel advisors scrambling to re-accommodate clients who had plans to be there.
While clients who were headed to Jamaica in the month following Melissa are largely changing destinations or postponing their trips, advisors also have gotten new requests from clients who want to visit the island early next year to support its recovery.
Lesley Sawhook
"I have had a lot of guests who just reached out to me who have been to Jamaica in the past," said Lesley Sawhook, owner of Exclusive Travel Partners in Cincinnati. "They love that country, they want to support the country, and they want to go back as soon as it's safe to do so, so they can support tourism there, which is awesome to hear."
Advisors had already been scrambling to accommodate clients in Jamaica or with plans to go to the island in the lead-up to the storm's landfall.
Jaynes said Reliant Destinations, which exclusively sells Sandals and Beaches resorts, started moving guests around a week before the storm. With "a rather monumental effort," he said, his team was able to reschedule all of those who were scheduled to be on the island and get clients already in Jamaica back home.
Now, he's knee-deep in helping clients make plans. Most, Jaynes said, want to return to Jamaica as soon as they can. It's something he's encouraging them to do, to strengthen the economy and maintain jobs, helping the island's recovery. His employees there "would be the first to assure you that tourism is desired and extremely necessary," he said.
All but three of Sandals' eight resorts in Jamaica are scheduled to open by Dec. 6, when Jaynes said he believes most of the island will be ready for tourism. (The Sandals South Coast and its two Montego Bay resorts are slated to reopen in the spring.)
"Jamaica is resilient," Jaynes said. "The island is strong and will come back stronger than before. While we recognize that some will choose other islands for now, we can't wait to help welcome as many guests as possible back to Jamaica."
Advisors are largely sending clients to different Caribbean islands or to Mexico until Jamaica reopens.
Sawhook had clients headed to a Sandals in Jamaica this month. The couple changed to a Sandals property on St. Lucia at no additional cost, minus the difference in airfare, thanks to Sandals' price-protection policy, she said. Travel insurance covered the airfare difference.
Margie Hand, a Birmingham, Ala.-based advisor with Andavo Travel, is looking at Aruba and other Caribbean destinations for her clients. One opted to cancel a trip altogether.
A limiting factor for some has been airlines. Hand, for instance, had a client who booked a flight with points on Southwest and is now limited to wherever Southwest flies in the Caribbean.
Emma Major Schroeder
Emma Major Schroeder, founder of Major Traveler in Atlanta, has found the same with clients who are married to a specific airline.
"While they've offered waivers, most are not offering outright refunds, so we are bound a bit to where those airlines fly in the Caribbean," she said.
For Schroeder, the Dominican Republic and Mexico have been two standout alternative destinations because, like Jamaica, they have strong all-inclusive options.
Advisors praised flexible supplier policies for enabling them to easily move clients to properties in other destinations.
Abbey Meyer
Also critical is insurance. Abbey Meyer, CEO of Missouri-based Sky High Travel, books a lot of Hyatt's Inclusive Collection, which said its Jamaica properties will stay closed until Jan. 31, through FunJet. The packager has an affordable cancel-for-any-reason plan, she said, enabling clients to switch destinations and even hotel brands.
Whatever they choose to do, clients are relying on advisors for advice and next steps.
"Most of our clients are leaning heavily on our expertise," Schroeder said. "They are seeing the damage reports online but simultaneously asking us for our information on the actual resort, airports, etc."
Christina Jelski contributed to this report.