Jamaicas hotel pipeline hit US$4.2 billion, even as Hurricane Melissa knocked 6,200 rooms out of circulation and several flagship projects slipped years behind schedule.

Jamaicas hotel pipeline hit US$4.2 billion, even as Hurricane Melissa knocked 6,200 rooms out of circulation and several flagship projects slipped years behind schedule.

A Melissa-damaged Montego Bay resort is reopening in 2028 under Marriott’s flagship brand instead of simply being repaired, part of a much larger regional all-inclusive expansion push.

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green says new resorts in St James and St Ann create a large market for local produce, but only for farmers who can supply consistently and to a high standard.

RIU Hotels and Resorts marked 25 years in Jamaica, where it has invested more than US$750 million and grown from one Negril hotel to seven properties.

Jamaica will tax Airbnb-style rentals under GCT from 2027, after a licensing bill stalled the year before. Hoteliers are pleased; some short-term rental operators call the process an ambush.

Jamaica will tax Airbnb-style rentals under GCT from 2027, after a licensing bill stalled the year before. Hoteliers are pleased; some short-term rental operators call the process an ambush.

Melissa caused $12.2 billion in damage, over half of Jamaica’s GDP. Half Moon reopened within six months while Hyatt pushed its own reopening back again, a real divide behind the sector’s 80 percent recovery headline.

A Negril innkeeper calls a coming GCT increase a death knell for small Jamaican hotels, which lack the scale and tax credits large resorts use to absorb new costs. She wants the same phased rollout Jamaica used for its original room tax.

Several major north coast resort brands are timing renovations to open before winter 2026, backed by a 22 percent jump in planned winter airlift capacity to Jamaica.