CHTA Live: Forging Ahead Series – Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association

CHTA is providing members a weekly webinar series called “CHTA Live: Forging Ahead Series”. Webinars on this series provide practical content to support your strategies for recovery; join the interactive discussions and exchange with industry professionals. #CHTALive.

Full webinar presentations and any support materials are available in PDF format via the secured CHTA Membership Portal. Please click the title link to view the recording.

On behalf of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association – we greatly appreciate the interest, participation and engagement we have received from CHTA members and non-members. We invite you to watch prior CHTA Live webinar recordings available below and submit any future topics you are interested in learning to: membership@caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.

August 10 : Turning Net Zero into Net Profits – Making Economic Sense Out of Carbon Footprinting

Profitability and sustainability are increasingly becoming synonymous, as more tourism-related businesses adopt practices and policies aimed at reducing their carbon footprint and more consumers factor their environmental footprint into buying decisions.

The tourism industry, led by leading tour operators, chains, airlines and organizations like the World Travel and Tourism Council, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), and regionally by CTO, CHTA and CAST, is taking the lead in advancing sustainable practices.

To help the Caribbean tourism industry weave thru the maze of jargon, practices and policies aimed at reducing their carbon footprint and achieving net zero emissions, CHTA and CAST, in collaboration with FEE invite your participation in a brief introductory virtual learning session focused on:

Raising awareness of climate change and how it impacts tourism and your business
Identifying a basic roadmap and benchmarks towards achieving net zero for your business
Engaging hoteliers and tourism-related businesses in the use of carbon measurement tools
Understanding how verification systems work
Sharing resources and best practices to help guide your efforts
Broadening your customer support and base by demonstrating responsible practices

A panel of Global and Caribbean experts will lead the discussion topics covering:

The Global Context – Understanding the Basics of Net Zero in Hospitality
Chris Imbsen, Director of Sustainability, World Travel and Tourism Council
Turning Net Zero into Net Profits….Practical Steps by Regional Hoteliers
Ewald Biemans, Owner and CEO, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Aruba
The Path to Net Zero,
Claudia Bogensperger, International Green Key Coordinator Foundation for Environmental Education

This webinar is co-hosted by The Nature Conservancy’s Caribbean Division and Reef Resilience Network, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST).

Moderator:

Denaye Hinds, Owner, JustaTAAD, LLC

June 13 : ‘Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence with ChatGPT: Practical Applications for Hotels’

Please click here for recording.

Please click here for presentation.

What We’ll Cover:

Developing a strategic framework for evaluating the potential for ChatGPT so that you know what might work for your business and when to get underway.
- - - - Practical examples of how The Rarotongan Beach Resort Group in the Cook Islands has deployed ChatGPT to grow direct business via ChatGPT bots, develop innovative new marketing strategies, streamline the cost of insurance premiums and bank interest and optimize their Food & Beverage Operations

Presenter: Tata Crocombe, Executive Chairman, The Rarotongan Beach Resort Group, Cook Islands, South Pacific.

Did you know?

The barriers to entry for hotels to access this technology are low, making it very accessible.
ChatGPT has the potential to restructure the global distribution, possibly within two to three years.
Every hotel will soon have a ChatGPT bot that will drive direct bookings. Chatbots will be as common as websites, with most hotels having direct bookings as their primary channel.

These are only a few of the activities and areas where ChatGPT can help your business that will be discussed during the session.

Harness the Power of ChatGPT for Hotels and Unlock Your Full Potential!

March 9 : ‘A Guide to Coral Reef Restoration for the Tourism Sector: Partnering with Caribbean Tourism Leaders to Accelerate Coral Restoration’

Why You Should Attend:

Healthy coral reefs are critical to sustain local economies and livelihoods, particularly through supporting tourism.
Reef-associated tourism in the Caribbean – including on-reef and reef-adjacent activities – brings in over $7.9 billion from more than 11 million visitors engaging in these activities every year.
Coral Reefs are rapidly disappearing worldwide prompting actions to mitigate and reverse the impact by a growing number of countries, organizations, companies and communities to mitigate and reverse the deterioration.
Recent research suggests that COVID-19 was a critical tipping point for travelers to seek more sustainable tourism options, presenting opportunity for the tourism industry to explore new, sustainable approaches and partnerships to support coral reef conservation.

Presenters include:

Dr. Margaux Hein, Lead Scientist, Marine Ecosystem Restoration Research and Consulting
Kyle Mais, Chairperson, Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism, and General Manager, Jamaica Inn
Dr. Elizabeth Shaver, Coral Conservation Program Manager, The Nature Conservancy Caribbean

September 8 and 15: ‘Sargassum: Managing the Threat…Outlook and Best Practices’ Part 1 & 2

A two-part virtual learning series to support tourism industry stakeholders efforts to monitor, manage and mitigate sargassum’s impact on tourism and the environment.

Part 1 –

Please click here for the recording

Please click here and here to view the presentations.

What We’ll Cover:

The latest research on causes and outlook
Monitoring to manage and mitigate sargassum’s impact
Impact on the environment, tourism and the economic opportunities

Panelist:

Dr. Shelly Ann Cox, CEO, Blueshell Productions
Dr. Chuanmin Hu, Coordinator, Satellite-based Sargassum Watch System (SaWS), University of South Florida
Jake Kheel, Vice President, Grupo Puntacana Foundation

Moderator:

Denaye Hinds, Owner, JustaTAAD, LLC

Part 2 –

Please click here for recording.

Please click here and here for presentation.

What We’ll Cover:

Clean-Up Do’s and Don’t’s
Best Practices by Destinations, Companies
Leveraging Public and Private Sector Efforts
Effective Communication Strategies to Guests, Prospective Guests, Media and Public

Panelist:

Dr. Shelly Ann Cox, CEO, Blueshell Productions
Raymond Mossiah, Chief Tourism Officer, Ministry of Tourism, Chair, Sargassum Task Force of Belize
Ricardo Perez, GM, Oyster Bay Beach Resort, and Director, Beach Cleaning Foundation, St. Maarten
Leroy Browne, GM, Sea Breeze Beach House, Barbados and Director, A Class Hotels, Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association,

Moderator:

Denaye Hinds, Owner, JustaTAAD, LLC

June 21: Cybersecurity, what can go wrong? – Protect your business and reputation: make your staff cyber-aware

The hotel and tourism industry has embraced technologies to improve the delivery of products and services to customers. Still, there are security risks related to these technologies, given the stored data and financial transactions carried out daily.

All employees within an organization must understand these risks and learn how to prevent them. Our panelists in this interactive masterclass will discuss cybersecurity risks, best practices, and the cost of implementing security to protect your data.

During this masterclass we will discuss:

What can go wrong with cybersecurity and the consequences
COVID-19 and its impact on cybersecurity
Best practices to protect your data
Understanding GDPR
Low cost solutions and where to spend your money

June 16: Insights on Rapidly Shifting Spending and Booking Patterns to Guide Your Summer and Fall Business

International travel continues to be strong with the Caribbean’s accessibility, product diversity and track record on health safety driving the recovery. However, rising inflation caused by an increase in the cost of gas and commodities fueled by the war in Ukraine will reduce the available household budget, which may well have a negative impact on discretionary spending such as travel.

In this session we will look at what tourism destinations and businesses might expect for the rest of 2022. Panelists will share a recap of the industry’s performance to-date and provide insights on the latest demand and spending patterns for 2022, as we identify opportunities and challenges to help guide your decision-making.

Presenter:

Sonia Huerta, Head of Customer Success, Mabrian Technologies

March 31: Say Goodbye to Off-Season: Strategies to Fill Empty Rooms

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Hoteliers know all too well how low demand during off-season can make or break revenue goals. Coming out of the last two years, the entire industry is dealing with a myriad of challenges from fluctuating demand to staff shortages and tightened marketing budgets. For hotels already operating on reduced profit margins, a significant dip in bookings during the off-season can spell disaster – but it doesn’t have to.

With the right tech stack in place and a solid understanding of your best guests, hotels have more resources at their disposal than ever before to drive profitable revenue growth and loyalty. Our panelists will go over the latest strategies and technologies designed to help hotels boost profitability during low periods while simultaneously elevating the guest experience, and how to leverage those concepts to promote repeat visits throughout the year.

During this webinar we will discuss:

Easy tips to drive occupancy and non-room revenue at your hotel
Digital marketing tactics that will maximize your reach
Effective ways to drive email conversions on your campaigns
Hotel website personalization tactics to boost direct bookings
How to leverage loyalty to increase repeat guests

Panelists:

Tina Markowitz, VP Digital Marketing Media & Analytics, Cendyn
Alex Moura, Director of Sales, LATAM, Cendyn

March 10: The Latest Caribbean Travel Trends: Capturing Your Share of Growing Demand

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As restrictions lift, travelers are looking to the Caribbean as a top international destination, and hoteliers and tourism boards are excited to respond to that demand. The pace of tourism’s recovery for the Caribbean is accelerating, presenting opportunities for the tuned-in, savvy hotelier.

Join CHTA’s strategic partner Travelzoo® and fellow Caribbean hoteliers as we look at:

Travelers’ top international destinations and where the Caribbean stands
Most sought-after Caribbean destinations (and how those not on the list can entice travelers)
Offers which are resonating and attracting new business
Broadening Your market appeal with special, luxury experiences that travelers want

Panelists:

Blanka Dewapura, Co-founder and Co-owner, Oceanid Hospitality Group
John Cather, Director of Sales, St. Lucia, Barbados, Panama & Palm Island, Elite Island Resorts
Cesar Rocha, Revenue and Distribution Manager, Sonesta St. Maarten
Ariadne Barrios, Caribbean Sales Manager, Travelzoo

November 3: HIGH TECH + HIGH TOUCH = HIGHER PROFITS (ON-DEMAND)

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many of us to go digital in an effort to avoid physical contact as much as possible. As the Caribbean tourism industry shifts into the future, many hotels are figuring out how to use technology to their advantage while maintaining a warm and memorable guest experience. Listen to our expert panelists for their experience and insight into:

New industry innovations you can apply to your business
How to make the guest experience as seamless as possible
Helping staff understand how to use new digital tools
How to decide how high-tech you want to go
How to deepen customer engagement and satisfaction while improving your bottom line

Your property’s technological tools can be as simple as a QR code for a menu or as high-tech as a completely contactless check-in. It comes down to this: What guest experience are you trying to achieve and what’s your budget? Match the two to get your desired result.

Panelists:

Alisdair Luxmoore, Founder & CEO, Vamoos
Shannon Kircher, Marketing Director, Frangipani Beach Resort, Anguilla
Christus Gill, Information Technology Manager, Marigot Bay Resort and Marina, St. Lucia
Kyle Mais, General Manager, Jamaica Inn

October 28: How Do You Stack Up? Caribbean Hotel Performance YTD and Insights for Winter 2022

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As Caribbean hotels look to recover, a growing number are once again benefiting from insights provided by STR, the world’s leading tourism industry barometer on rate, ADR, occupancy and comparative company subset and destination performance. Join STR and CHTA for a strategy-guiding session as we look at:

Summer, 2021 Industry Performance and How You Measure Up
How the Winter Season is Shaping Up
Benchmarking Against 2019 and Trendline Data Pre-Covid-19
How-Out Events and Strategies Shape Performance
Essential Decision-Making Tools… How Data and Reports Drive Better Decisions

Panelists:

Peter Hopgood, President, Paulson Puerto Rico Hotels
Rico Louw, Regional Sales Manager and Sales Executive for Mexico, STR
Erin Smith, Chief Information Officer, Bermuda Tourism Authority
Karolin Troubetzkoy, Executive Director, Marketing and Operations, Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain Resorts

Attendees will also learn about STR’s Planned Forward STAR feature and how they can participate in and gain even more valuable planning insights from this new support service.

September 23: Direct Book Strategic That Increase Revenue

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Caribbean hotels are losing out on so much direct revenue by overreliance on 3rd party channels. Third parties are an important part of your channel mix, but there are many other strategies that can bring direct bookings and loyal repeat stays without the heavy commissions.

Join us for an engaging discussion on:

Effective management with tour operators – understand your true constrained demand to see what inventory you offer
Understanding your true competition: it’s not local other properties; its island based. Seeing how to compete effectively knowing this is the case
Storytelling and brand strategies to ensure travelers see the true value of YOUR island, property and what makes it special and unique
Using tools like Shopping Cart Abandonment re-targeting “white glove” solutions on your Web site to ensure those lookers book on your site, not the OTA
Why with proper training and techniques, your call centers can be your best sellers vs. order takes that turn travelers into dates, rates and names

Moderator: Sanovnik Destang, Executive Director, Bay Gardens Resorts

Panelists:

Michael Stark, Enterprise Sales Consultant, NAVIS
Oliver Janke, Account Director, US South East & Caribbean, Preferred Hotels & Resorts
Marc Liu, Head of Strategy, Elmntl

August 19: Adapting to the Ever Changing Landscape of Today’s Travel

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The webinar will include a moderated discussion with Caribbean hoteliers and tourism boards, and focus on the following topics:

Latest travel sentiment data
International travel preferences
Challenges with re-opening destinations and hotels
Successful communication plans for destinations as restrictions lift or change
Successful re-opening strategies for hoteliers

Panelists:

Larry Basham – General Counsel & Chief Operating Officer, Elite Island Resorts
Joseph Boschulte – Commissioner of Tourism, U.S. Virgin Islands
Ricardo Perez – General Manager, Oyster Bay Beach Resort, Sint Maarten
Ellison Thompson – Deputy Director General, Ministry of Tourism and Aviation of the Bahamas
Susan Catto – Head of Publishing, Travelzoo
Emma Weber – Senior Sales Manager, Travelzoo

July 29: Our Best Shot – A Look at Successful Vaccine Awareness Practices in the Tourism Industry

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Encouraging employees to vaccinate can be challenging, but one which has tremendous public health benefits as well as continuing to safeguard your business and our industry. Doing so requires overcoming barriers of awareness, availability, and (sometimes) vaccine hesitancy.

Join us for an exchange session as we share best practices on vaccine awareness campaigns from destinations and businesses that have successfully turned challenges into opportunities.

June 9: Staying Ahead of the Storm – Hurricane Preparedness in a COVID-19 Era

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Join CHTA and a Panel of Leading Experts to Discuss….

Tips for creating or updating your business continuity plan
Best practices in business continuity planning
Health safety considerations to safeguard your business, team members and guests
Communications strategies to minimize the impact on your business
Regional and local response mechanisms and areas of support
Your insurance checklist

April 22: Tapping Into the Growing Popularity of Travel Advisors

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March 25: New Insights on Travel to Caribbean & Mexico

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Panelists:

Susan Catto, Head of Publishing & Production, Canada, Travelzoo
Sanovnik Destang, Executive Director, Bay Gardens Resorts, St. Lucia
George Hunter, Vice President VP of Leisure Sales for International Segments, Posadas
Richard Rodriguez, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, North America, Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic
Andrée Sanquini, General Manager, U.S., Travelzoo

Jan 28: Tapping Into A New Consumer Mindset To Maximize Revenue

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Panelists:

Andreas Spycher, Principal – Mastercard Data & Services
David Klippenstein, Government Data & Services lead at Mastercard Advisors

Jan 26: Understanding & Adjusting to New Traveler Testing Requirement by the US, UK and Canada

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Please click here to view the presentation.

Panelists:

Peter Cerda, Regional Vice President, The Americas, International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Nicola Madden-Greig, 1st CHTA Vice President and Chairperson, CHTA Advocacy Committee, Group Director of Marketing & Sales, The Courtleigh Hospitality Group
Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)

Nov 24: Rethink Travel: Drive More Bookings via Your Direct Channel

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Panelist:

Manny Melendez, Director of Sales, LATAM and the Caribbean, Amadeus Integrated Booking Suite