One tourist is dead and nearly 1,700 people were evacuated after a Caribbean resort inferno exposed what American hotel brands don't advertise: the thatched-roof paradise you're paying premium rates for wouldn't pass a basic fire inspection back home.
The Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic, was nearly destroyed Friday morning when fire ripped through the property at stunning speed. The cause is still under investigation, but Dominican emergency officials identified the culprit right away: the resort's own roof. "Preliminary observations indicate that the fire spread rapidly due to the flammable nature of parts of the roof structures made of palm, as well as wind conditions," the country's Emergency Operations Center, or COE, said in a statement. CBS News reported the agency specifically cited cane — a more combustible material — as a key factor.
Francesca Valentino, a 46-year-old Italian tourist, died at the scene. Three people were transported to medical facilities and six others were treated on site, according to the DAEH emergency service. Cellphone footage showed guests swimming in the ocean just feet from the blaze, stranded with nowhere to go as the resort burned behind them.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, which franchises some 8,400 hotels worldwide per CNN, puts its brand on this property. A spokesperson for Viva Resorts by Wyndham told CBS News the company is "actively gathering the facts" and coordinating with authorities but declined further comment. CNN reported Wyndham did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Dominican Republic is the Caribbean's top tourist destination, receiving 5.6 million visitors in the first five months of this year alone, according to CNN. Bayahibe is marketed specifically to American and international tourists. Americans book these resorts expecting a name-brand standard of safety. What they get are palm-thatch roofs that Dominican authorities themselves say turned a fire into an unstoppable inferno.
Meanwhile, COE insisted that "tourist activities in Bayahibe and the surrounding area remain unaffected and continue to take place safely and as normal." The adjacent Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace, part of the same chain, was not damaged and continues operating — with the same roof construction that just fueled a deadly blaze.
The U.S. government sends millions in aid to the Dominican Republic every year while Americans vacationing there sleep under roofs that would be illegal in any state in the union. No American fire marshal would sign off on cane construction at a hotel housing 1,700 guests. But slap a Wyndham brand on it, and it's a four-star getaway.
The question isn't why this resort burned. Dominican officials already answered that. The question is why an American hotel franchise is allowed to lend its name — and the trust that comes with it — to properties built to standards that kill, and who in Washington is paid to look the other way.
