TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands A Question Of Ethics

Hi Everyone! I need some help please. I noticed on FB over the weekend that Cow Wreck is open. I then went to their website and saw that they are asking for donations to help rebuild in return for gift certificates to be redeemed at their place. My first thought was that is perfect since we will be there soon. Then I felt that it would be unethical to donate then make them redeem the money within a few days. I realize that the redemption would be in food & drink so the actual cost of the items is what they would be "out" not the full amount I donate. What do you guys think?

I believe it is fine, Potter's did this a few years ago after a previous hurricane. I donated $100 and received a confirmation. I redeemed the donation in services a couple years later and they seemed very appreciative.

It's a form of what discount dining cards do. The business gets the money first and deals with the cost of goods later. I think it's a great idea for Anegada (especially with no middleman)

Let's face it, most of us want to help others -- but it is also nice to feel good about what did to help. If it makes you uncomfortable to redeem the cards right away, then choose another way to help. Go as planned, spend your money, tip well, and give some extra for the rebuilding if you want.

I view it as asking for a "hand" rather than a "handout".

100% absolutely fine! I own a coffee shop and gift cards/customer cards are a big portion of my business. A small percentage won't ever redeem them. Just having a customer there will lift them up on some level.

I thought perhaps this question was about whether people thought it was ethical to beg for money.... I have my own feelings on that. Regardless, my take on your situation is that you should go when you're planning on going, eat and drink as you would normally, and then at the end, you can give them some extra money if you like. Certainly no reason for you to feel bad, either way..

Thank you all for your input. Here is what I decided to do. I purchased $500 in gift certificates. We are staying on the west side of the island which is close to Cow Wreck. That alone will make it kind of our go to spot. We like to spread our money around for the week we are there. If we use the gift certificates, great. If not, oh well. Thanks again for your comments.

I was there for Lobster Fest yesterday. They made enough money to build three bars. The place was packed. Anegada is open and ready for business. The power is on. Almost all the the restaurants have done enough repairs to be open. It was crazy busy. I think half of the BVI's population along with about a hundred people from St Thomas where there. Everybody was ready to blow off a little steam.

Jay

Jay, Great to hear things are returning to "normal". The complete recovery will take a while, but the road to recovery is paved with tourist/charterers, spending money, restoring the economy.

We have a restaurant on the island where we live that has been doing something along those same lines for several years. A month or two prior to re-opening for "the season" they asked their more affluent regular customers to pre-pay a set amount (looking to raise anywhere from $20k to $30k) the proceeds of which are use to renovate and redecorate their facilities.

The "contributors" are then given a food & beverage credit for that amount to be redeemed anytime during the current year.

I'm not sure how the economics of that really works since they spend the up front money right away and then give away a similar amount in food, etc. You have to wonder about their revenue stream.

>>I'm not sure how the economics of that really works<<

Pretty simple...
It's called Cash Flow!

It is like a Kickstarter campaign. You have "investors" and for their part they receive product/service in return. Or as mentioned it's like gift certificates where the odds of every single person actually redeeming are low so there is always that added "bonus" to the business or better yet they do show up to redeem and spend more on top with their own $$ because the gift certificate was a gift. Soggy Dollar has had a version of this business model with their drink board.