What’s there to do on island? Exactly where really should we take in? How do we get there?
These are questions Virgin Islands inhabitants are acquainted with, but not website visitors who spend time attempting to get in the ideal knowledge throughout their small time in the islands.
Answering people concerns is now only a mobile phone connect with away, and has turned into a business for Jinniah Dowdye. Operator of SeaShell Encounters, Dowdye generates custom holidays.
Born and raised on St. Thomas, Dowdye has worked in the hospitality sector since 2015, and “fell in love with supporting company generate their very own holiday vacation.”
Although doing work as a cashier at Moe’s Contemporary Industry, buyers frequently asked Dowdye where by they should go and what they ought to do. She realized there was a need for a organization that addresses those queries so the attendees didn’t have to squander any of their time on island, specially those in vacation rentals.
“Most of the lodges here have concierge service available or have holiday vacation planners on web-site. A ton of Airbnbs and personal villas do not have that support, so that is a person of my aims, to arrive at out to them and seize their consideration, so prior to they get there on island, their vacation is currently prepared out,” Dowdye explained.
“They’ll have a tailored itinerary with working day-to-working day activities for them to do,” Dowdye said. “A lot of people today appear on a three-day holiday, coming in on Friday and leaving on Monday. The time they just take sitting down at that holiday vacation setting up desk, they’re wasting their holiday vacation absent, so it is greater to have every thing planned in advance of time,” she stated.
With SeaShell Encounters, Dowdye could set up day sails, parasailing and other activities for a single customer, a pair, a group or a loved ones, for as extensive as they keep on island. She’ll prepare cafe reservations, airport choose up, vehicle rentals, and seaside, searching, island and meals tours. Groceries can be shipped, ready and waiting for their arrival. Should they want rose petals or balloons in the room for a unique occasion, she’ll make it come about, she reported.
The system is straightforward.
A vacationer fills out a questionnaire on the SeaShell Encounters site and Dowdye reaches out to them with a list of recommendations and then plans accordingly.
“It’s heading to be tailor-made to what they want, not just what I want to endorse,” Dowdye stated. “Some holiday vacation planners have distinct suppliers they do the job with. I’m seeking not to go that route mainly because not all people might want the similar expertise. Some may well want to be on a day sail with just them and their household, and some could possibly want to go on a day sail with other individuals.”
Dowdye explained the aim of her company is easy.
“We want them to seriously have a great time and take pleasure in on their own. That way, when they go back again dwelling, they unfold the term and then more individuals will appear and go to the islands,” she claimed.
Dowdye took a gamble opening SeaShell Ordeals. Whilst she has expertise in the hospitality field, she had no knowledge in owning a small business or how to market it. She meant to start the organization final year, but held off for the reason that of COVID-19. All the things wasn’t easy sailing right away she claimed she put SeaShell Encounters on social media at the beginning of the summer time with little reaction.
“I had it on Fb for a though, but I was not gaining considerably targeted traffic,” she stated. “It’s a whole lot to learn. I started out off not recognizing considerably. I even now have a whole lot I have to master about marketing and advertising,” she explained, including she just lately completed a web-site to drive traffic. ‘I’m finding out as I go. I’m executing every little thing from scratch.”
As she carries on to finetune the organization, Dowdye said she has a good deal of tips in the functions and hopes to sometime do the job with much larger teams and quite possibly with the Tourism Division.
“I’ve constantly been quiet and shy, so this is a big big phase for me — putting myself out there,” she said. “The simple fact that I even started is a big step in the suitable course for me. As I go alongside, I’ll get to out and see what solutions there may be.”
For much more information and facts, take a look at www.seashellexperiences.com.
