One of Bermuda's top hoteliers has insisted that he is still very much committed to the fractional ownership market despite the recent problems faced by Newstead Belmont Hills and Tucker's Point.David Dodwell, owner of The Reefs, said that he had made a significant investment in the infrastructure of his resort following the $52 million development of The Reefs Club which was completed last year and despite membership being below initial expectations he had no intention of giving up or walking away from it.In an exclusive interview with The Royal Gazette, Mr Dodwell, who was presented with the 2010 Caribbean Hotelier of the Year Award for The Reefs and Nisbet Plantation, his other resort in Nevis, at a ceremony held in Jamaica earlier this year, said that he was concerned about the impact of Newstead and the Pink Beach Club going into receivership on Bermuda's reputation for attracting new investors.He had heard there were potential buyers for both hotels but he said it was up to the industry collectively to properly market and sell the Island as a destination in order to ensure its future success.“I'm strong on Bermuda, I'm strong on tourism and I'm strong on my hotel,” he said. “I believe in it, but I think we all have to recognise that times have changed.”Mr Dodwell said that he did not want to comment on the issue of the Tucker's Point special development order, suffice to say he understood and sympathised with the argument from both sides and that a resolution needed to be reached quickly so that the resort and the country as a whole could move forward.Citing September 2008 as the turning point, he said that business had been tough and despite making some fractional unit sales, it was nowhere near the projected numbers. However Mr Dodwell was confident that there was still a market for fractional owners looking to spread their risk during and coming out of the recession.“Everyone's way of thinking and outlook has changed,” he said. “We don't know what the ‘new norm' is going to be - I think things are still settling down and shaking out.“But my view is that ultimately that the type of fractional product that we sell is going to be more favourable in the future.”He said that the economic downturn had seen his staff to redouble their efforts and come up with creative ways of getting business such as putting up hotel guests and prospective buyers into the fractional units.Mr Dodwell admitted that it had been a hard winter across the board and the spring looked uncertain at best, as is the summer due to the growing trend of last-minute bookings as a result of concerns over job security and finances.But he disputed the argument that the biggest challenge facing Bermuda's tourism industry was price, but rather one of offering value for money.“Bermuda is always going to be expensive, but we can't win a price war because there are all sorts of other places that are cheaper - we'll die if we keep dropping our rates,” he said.“It is about providing value added, which is another way of reducing rates without needing to discount. That includes anything that costs money that can be, such as complimentary transfers from the airport, that doesn't change the room rate.“Once your room rates go down in the mind of the customer it is hard to get them back up again.“Personally I think that discounting sends the wrong message to the customer - this Island is not a discount Island and it shouldn't be so.”Ever the optimist, Mr Dodwell said that there are already some positive signs with group business up for the big hotels, which can mean more trade for smaller operations when they are fully booked.However he was quick to acknowledge that global competition had increased with the Caribbean seeing increased occupancy rates and air arrivals and it was key for Bermuda to be out there as a presence.Mr Dodwell, himself a former Tourism Minister, applauded new Tourism Minister Patrice Minors in her search for the right advertising and marketing agency and taking time to do the job properly so that it was in place for next year, while welcoming the new Tourism Board in the hope that it will produce a five-year national plan as soon as possible.“I think one of our biggest challenges as a country is implementation,” he said.“Sometimes we just have to get out there and do things. We spend a lot of time talking about what everybody else should be doing because we all have a view, but now we need to put that into action and make our country a better tourism destination.”Mr Dodwell said that today's client was more discerning and wasn't afraid to say what they want, which those in the trade had to be responsive to in order to provide them with the best level of service.“We have to learn how to compete all over again,” he said. “In the past we didn't have a lot of competition so we became complacent and now the world is our competition and it's tough when you have never really experienced it before.”Mr Dodwell said that 2008 had had a bigger impact on tourism than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which it had recovered from two years later, and that things would never be the same again.But he added that it was the perfect opportunity to build a new model and most importantly to get it right.Mr Dodwell said that he felt for the owners of the fractional units at Newstead but was hopeful that they could be brought out of receivership.Looking to the future, he said that one or two of the new developments coming on line needed to be completed to boost the sector.“As a country we have no choice but to make tourism work,” he said.“After all we are the only physical asset business in Bermuda that competes outside of the Island and we are here to stay.”