'They are selling us out for a few pieces of gold or silver’- Shereen D. Flax-Charles
Speaking at the Ninth District Community Meeting at the St Mary’s Episcopal Church Hall on Monday evening, August 31, 2026, Flax-Charles warned that closing natural landmarks for private interests sets a dangerous precedent for the entire territory.
Flax-Charles, who is the sister of former Director of Tourism Sharon P. Flax-Brutus, cautioned that the monetisation and exclusion of local public sites would quickly spread beyond Virgin Gorda to sister islands if left unchecked.
“I said to somebody in Anegada, ‘Are they going to come and get you guys that you cannot go to the Conch Mounds today because we have a cruise ship coming in and they have bought us out?’” Flax-Charles questioned.
Addressing financial justifications put forward for the proposed restrictions, Flax-Charles strongly rejected accepting monetary payouts at the expense of public access and heritage rights.
She questioned the government's budget
“They are selling us out for a few pieces of gold or silver—30 pieces of silver—and in this case, they are trying to wave $450,000 in our face.”
Flax-Charles further questioned the national government budget. “What is the government’s budget? We need to fight and make sure it doesn’t happen.”
The tourism professional issued an uncompromising call for civil action if official negotiations fail to protect local access to the national park.
“Let me tell everybody in this room: You all better be prepared. If it does not go the way that we need it to go, that it’s not going to be four of us going down to the town to protest,” Flax-Charles declared. “We need 4,000.”
She added, “This is not a fight about The Baths. It’s not a fight about Virgin Gorda,” she concluded. “It’s a fight about the entire Virgin Islands.”
It should be noted that the Ninth District Representative Hon Vincent O. Wheatley is against restrictions to The Baths and Devil's Bay, and it is also a position he has expressed years ago.
D9 Representative in solidarity with concerned residents
Hon Wheatley has also publicly expressed solidarity with the concerned persons.
Similarly, Deputy Premier Hon Julian Fraser, RA, is also not in favour of any agreement to restrict public access to The Baths and beaches in the Virgin Islands.
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19 Responses to “'They are selling us out for a few pieces of gold or silver’- Shereen D. Flax-Charles ”
You also sat in TB and was privy to many proposals and discussions on these cruise tourists and the companies wants. Why are you politicizing this when the district rep and the subject minister both have publicly stated they are against it. You of all people should know and respect processes and realize that it has not reached the cabinet yet for final approvals!!
GTFOH with your pandering to try to drum up support for you and your sister in the upcoming general elections!! Set of setty fowls!
It’s impossible to be the problem and the solution. All this is happens under the VIPs watch.
You can’t hide your hand, while framing it as if it’s being forced on the people. It’s the very same government that’s responsible for this issue.
Let them tell it, they’re clueless who’s in charge when it comes to answers.
Are we really serious! Everyday Sharon working hard, selling beachfront land on Virgin Gorda as a Sotheby Real Estate agent! Land that you, as a BV Islander can't even access and if you do, them owners chasing you off the land! This woman love rubbing shoulders with the rich and elite and acting like she don't "do do!" People wake up!
You know how diabolical it is for you to be selling off VG, while advocating for resident access to all of the BVI? VG have an issue now, so it's "is a fight for the entire Virgin Islands!"
Tola and Jost Van Dyke ain't studying you! Them ain't have no running water for how long, yet you and your sister quiet!
Keep Anegada out your mouth! Tis you was the Director of Tourism when Branson wanted the same conch shell for himself and when the meeting was held, tis run them run him off Anegada! Anegada ain't got them land for over a century,, upto now, you and your sister have yet to open ayo mouth and fight for it!
Talking about entire Virgin Islands! Pure talk!
I've never heard her ever utter a word of solidarity for any other island and their issues, now she and her sister crying out saying it's a BVI issue and the whole Virgin Islands need to stand up too!
This is very disingenuous! Shame on them!
The issue is not that Sharon Flax-Brutus has several jobs in tourism. The issue is the repeated alignment between what she publicly urges the Territory to prioritise and the businesses in which she already has ownership, equity, management authority or other commercial interests.
1. OVERNIGHT TOURISM — SHE IS PUSHING THE MARKET THAT FEEDS A 40+ VILLA PORTFOLIO
HER WORDS:
“We need to shift our tourism arrivals conversation from volume to value.”
GBM reported that her argument was specifically for greater emphasis on overnight visitors. (GB Media House)
HER COMMERCIAL INTEREST:
Sharon is Managing Partner of Virgin Gorda Villa Rentals, publicly described as a luxury portfolio of more than 40 villas. Her promotion also gave her a direct equity stake in the company’s growth and principal responsibility for strategy, investment, marketing and product development. (iicom.org)
THE CONFLICT:
She is advocating increased policy emphasis on the exact class of visitor that supplies the customers for a 40+ luxury-villa portfolio in which she holds an equity interest.
This is not a remote or incidental benefit. Her financial interest grows in the same direction as the tourism model she is urging the Territory to prioritise.
2. LUXURY TOURISM — SHE IS ADVOCATING THE POSITIONING IN WHICH HER COMMERCIAL INTERESTS ARE CONCENTRATED
HER WORDS:
“Luxury, I’ve always said, it’s not a price point. It’s the way that the BVI makes you feel.”
She has also advocated maintaining the BVI as a boutique luxury destination. (BVI News)
HER COMMERCIAL INTEREST:
Her interests include luxury villa management through VGVR, luxury property management through White Oleander, and luxury real estate through BVI Sotheby’s, where she remains publicly identified as a listing agent. (Virgin Gorda Villa Rentals)
THE CONFLICT:
She is advocating that the destination itself be organised and positioned more strongly around the market in which several of her commercial interests already sit.
The alignment is not simply tourism → tourism.
It is:
luxury policy positioning → luxury villas → luxury property management → luxury real estate.
3. EVENT TOURISM — SHE ADVOCATES EXPANDING A MARKET HER OWN COMPANY ALREADY SELLS
HER WORDS:
“Event tourism as well is very important.”
She specifically argued that events can attract the demographic the BVI should be targeting. (BVI News)
HER COMMERCIAL INTEREST:
White Oleander Destinations, owned by Sharon and Mark Brutus, sells event management, destination weddings, incentive travel planning, transportation, villa rentals, concierge services and event equipment. (White Oleander Destinations)
THE CONFLICT:
She is publicly advocating expansion of a tourism niche for which her own company already has the services, infrastructure and commercial offering in place.
Government does not have to create a future opportunity for her.
She is already positioned to sell into the market she is advocating should grow.
4. CURATED AND PREMIUM EXPERIENCES — HER POLICY LANGUAGE IS HER BUSINESS MODEL
HER WORDS:
“I believe in curated experiences.”
During The Baths controversy, she also proposed “premium experiences” and “enhanced services” as alternative revenue-generating approaches. (GB Media House)
HER COMMERCIAL INTEREST:
VGVR identifies Sharon as its Tourism Experience Curator and sells premium experiences and services recommended by her. Sharon herself writes commercially that she has crafted signature Virgin Gorda experiences to elevate villa vacations. White Oleander separately sells curated tours and bespoke itineraries. (Virgin Gorda Villa Rentals)
THE CONFLICT:
“Curated experiences” and “premium experiences” are not merely concepts Sharon believes Government should pursue.
They are products she already sells.
Her public prescription for the destination closely mirrors her existing private commercial model.
5. THE BATHS — SHE IS ADVOCATING OVER THE MANAGEMENT OF AN ASSET HER BUSINESS ACTIVELY MONETISES
HER PUBLIC POSITION:
Sharon became one of the principal public voices challenging how The Baths should be accessed, managed and commercialised, while simultaneously supporting concepts such as premium experiences and broader visitor-management measures. (GB Media House)
HER COMMERCIAL INTEREST:
VGVR actively markets The Baths as part of the Virgin Gorda villa experience. It even manages Amani Villa, advertised specifically on the strength of being within a five-minute walk of The Baths and Spring Bay. Sharon herself features The Baths in the signature experiences she promotes to villa guests. (Virgin Gorda Villa Rentals)
THE CONFLICT:
She is helping shape public debate over access, crowding, commercialisation and visitor management at an attraction whose proximity and experience are simultaneously used to sell the product of a company in which she holds an equity interest.
The Baths is therefore not merely a cultural or community issue for her.
It is also part of her commercial tourism product.
6. THE ENTIRE VISITOR JOURNEY — HER COMPANY IS BUILT TO CAPTURE SPENDING FROM ARRIVAL TO DEPARTURE
HER ADVOCACY:
At the Tourism Summit, Sharon emphasised improving the guest journey from arrival to departure. (GOV.VG)
HER COMMERCIAL INTEREST:
White Oleander is positioned across that same journey:
airport meet-and-greet → expedited immigration/customs assistance → transportation → vehicle rental → villa rental → concierge → itinerary planning → tours → events → service-provider procurement. (White Oleander Destinations)
VGVR adds accommodation, concierge, travel-trade relationships, experiences and other guest services. (Virgin Gorda Villa Rentals)
THE CONFLICT:
Her advocacy is not merely for more tourists to come.
She is advocating improvement of an end-to-end visitor economy in which her businesses are themselves positioned at multiple points to capture expenditure.
7. PROPERTY, RENTALS AND TOURISM — SHE IS POSITIONED ON BOTH THE ASSET AND TOURISM SIDES OF THE VILLA ECONOMY
HER COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE:
Sharon is connected to real-estate sales through BVI Sotheby’s. VGVR manages more than 40 luxury villas and markets its services to property owners specifically around operating profitable vacation rentals and maximising income. VGVR also provides broker, marketing, reservations and property-management services. White Oleander separately manages luxury properties. (Sotheby’s International Realty)
THE CONFLICT:
The tourism model she promotes potentially feeds several stages of her commercial ecosystem:
luxury destination demand → property desirability → villa ownership/investment → property management → vacation rental → guest services and experiences.
She therefore does not have one isolated interest in overnight tourism.
She is commercially positioned across the underlying property economy as well as the visitor economy built on top of it.
8. MOST IMPORTANTLY — SHE HAS A PLATFORM TO TURN THESE COMMERCIAL PREFERENCES INTO POLICY
HER WORDS:
“Summits do not transform destinations. Informed policies do. Strategies do. Investment does.”
(GOV.VG)
HER POSITION:
Government identifies Sharon as President of BVIYHTA. The Association partnered with Government and the Tourist Board on the Tourism Summit, while Government confirms that Tourism Summit discussions and stakeholder consultations fed directly into development of the National Tourism Policy. (GOV.VG)
The 2025 Summit record also shows Sharon advocating on tourism positioning, attraction diversification, park fees, infrastructure, environmental-levy resources, sustainability and the visitor experience. (GOV.VG)
THE CONFLICT:
This is the point that elevates everything else.
She does not simply own businesses that happen to align with her opinions.
She occupies an industry leadership platform from which those preferences can enter discussions over Government policy, strategy, investment, fees, infrastructure and destination management.
And she has expressly said that this is where she believes the discussion must lead.
The Pattern
The evidence shows a remarkably consistent alignment:
She calls for more emphasis on overnight visitors — she has equity in a 40+ luxury-villa portfolio.
She promotes luxury tourism — her interests span luxury villas, luxury property management and luxury real estate.
She calls for event tourism — her company sells events and destination weddings.
She promotes curated and premium experiences — her companies sell curated and premium experiences.
She intervenes in how The Baths should be managed — The Baths is part of the commercial product her villa company markets.
She advocates improving the guest journey from arrival to departure — her destination-management company sells services across that journey.
She advocates tourism policy, strategy and investment — she leads an industry organisation participating directly in the policy process.
The Hard Finding
This is no longer adequately described as simply having “overlapping tourism interests.”
There is a recurring pattern in which Sharon Flax-Brutus advocates expansion, prioritisation or restructuring of tourism in directions that correspond closely with markets in which she already owns businesses, holds equity, manages substantial commercial inventory or provides paid services.
Most significantly, she is not positioning herself after advocating the change.
She is already commercially established before the change occurs.
More than 40 luxury villas.
An equity stake in their management company.
A destination-management company.
Property management.
Events and destination weddings.
Transportation and vehicle rentals.
Tours and curated experiences.
Real estate.
And an industry leadership role capable of carrying tourism priorities into Government discussions over policy, strategy and investment.
That is the conflict that requires scrutiny: not whether her tourism ideas may also have merit, but whether a person so extensively commercially positioned within the model being promoted should be allowed to present that advocacy as broad industry or public-interest leadership without equally prominent disclosure of the private interests that stand alongside it.
Any government who entertain any other choice is clearly not for the people of these Islands.