Best Practices, Hands-On Learning Will Set Tone at New Region-wide Engagement Event

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) is staging the new Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF), an event designed for hospitality and tourism professionals, which provides best practices and hands-on learning opportunities to help hoteliers “make more money and save more money.” CHIEF will be held Oct. 2-4, 2015 at El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico.

CHIEF offers three days of value-packed and engaging exchange sessions focused on helping businesses to generate revenue, reduce costs and become more relevant and efficient. CHIEF incorporates a variety of educational tracks so all attendees can walk away with practical business tips. The educational tracks will be lead by experts from a variety of travel, tourism and hospitality industry segments featuring roundtable panels with one-one-one discussions in Operations, Sales & Marketing, and Environment and Energy. An interactive tradeshow format, featuring an open floor plan, has been designed so participants and exhibitors interact through live demonstrations of new products. Exhibitors will offer exclusive discounts on services and products to CHIEF attendees.

“CHIEF will demonstrate how members can make more money and save more money while having fun as they expand their business network,” said Emil Lee, president of CHTA.
CHIEF encompasses the entire hospitality and tourism industry with educational opportunities for hotel owners and operators; chain resort management and executives; tourism industry entrepreneurs; government agencies focused on planning and investment; public and private tourism and convention agencies; hotel associations; and tourism and hospitality vendors/providers.

The CHIEF opening session on Oct. 2 will feature a keynote address which will establish the tone for the forum, providing information and insight into industry trends and their application to business planning and marketing strategies aimed at increasing revenue and bottom lines.

CHIEF general sessions will include the following:

State of the Industry Panel – Will set the tone for the conference as it looks at performance trends, overview of the region’s economics and hospitality industry results by country and market segments.
Future of Travel Distribution and Channel Management – Will explore changes in demand and the impact on hotels and resorts in the region. The session will look at trends in GDS, OTAs, hotel direct, mobile voice and other channels and provide suggestions for implementing a channel management strategy to grow revenues.
CHIEF attendees also will have the opportunity to network with industry colleagues at various social events, cocktail receptions and fun trade show activities. Exclusive CHIEF nature tours of Puerto Rico, shopping expeditions, spa packages and other activities will be offered to participants and their families.

As part of the CHIEF program, an awards luncheon will be held where CHTA honors the “Stars of the Caribbean Hotel Industry” including Caribbean Hotelier of the Year, Association Executive of the Year, Supervisor of the Year, Employee of the Year, and Allied Member of the Year.