The Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives (CSHAE) gathered for its annual Leadership Conference May 4-6 in Trinidad.During the meeting, attendees agreed on a number of issues designed to strengthen the national associations and benefit the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) membership throughout the region and re-elected Susan Springer, executive director of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association as president of CSHAE for another year.

Sherille Hughes President of the Anguilla Hotel & Tourism Association (AHTA) along with Trudy Nixon, Executive Director, attended the Leadership Conference as part of an effort to further strengthen and expand the activities for the AHTA.

The two-day meeting and educational symposium concluded with the group of association executives from across the region agreeing upon a six point action plan including:

Helping to facilitate a reduction in energy costs throughout each destination
Creating a greater environmental sensitivity in all areas of the destinations
Broadening the agenda on education and training by both the public and private sectors
Helping to ensure a safe environment in the destination
Fostering professional development throughout the hotel sector
Assisting in the creation of an expanded and improved workforce of Caribbean nationals working in the hospitality industry

“We intend to assist our members throughout the CHA community across the region as well as strengthen the operation of our local national hotel and tourism associations through education and training support of both the association executives and elected officials,” said Susan Springer, CSHAE President.

“We also want to build a world class Caribbean tourism workforce as human resource development has become one of the primary concerns throughout the hospitality industry and the Caribbean is no different,” she added.

Trudy Nixon said: “it was an invaluable opportunity to get better acquainted with best practice in Association Management – Mr Tecker told us that “the pace of change of AHTA programmes must keep pace with our members pace of change” which at the moment is pretty rapid!! We are currently working on a new strategic plan for the Association and this information could not have come at a better time”.

The annual Leadership Conference, sponsored by the CHA included a full-day symposium by Glenn Tecker, noted expert on association management as well as a full-day of exchanging ideas that allowed both large and small associations to share successes and pitfalls of operating a national hotel association in the Caribbean.

The annual gathering also afforded CHA the opportunity to share changes in programs as well as get input from the national associations to further strengthen the relationships with the membership of both the national associations and CHA.

Executives from the national associations across the Caribbean elected a new slate of officers and directors for CSHAE including:
President: Sue Springer, Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association
Vice President: Caesar Campbell, Turks & Caicos Hotel & Tourism Association
Treasurer: Marion Wilson, Bonaire Hotel & Tourism Association
Director: Trudy Nixon, Anguilla Hotel & Tourism Association
Director: Neil Forrester, Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association
Director: Frank Comito, Bahamas Hotel Association
Director: Dee Smith, Bermuda Hotel Association
Director: Donald Werdekker, Curacao Hospitality and Tourism Association
Director: Clarisa Jimenez, Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association

EDITORS NOTES:
Caribbean Hotel Association: The Caribbean Hotel Association aims to optimize the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving member needs and building partnerships. CHA was founded in 1962; it is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region – and CHA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 800 member hotels and 750 allied members. For more information, visit www.caribbeanhotelassociation.com.

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