HSMAI Curacao

HSMAI & CHA Team Up For 3rd Annual Event in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dec. 13-14, 2007
MCLEAN, VA (Sept. 13, 2007) – “What will make tomorrow’s consumer tick” is what trend tracker Michael Tchong, founder of Ubercool, will tell those attending the 3rd annual Caribbean Sales & Marketing Strategy Conference presented by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).

In “A New Social Dialog,” Tchong will take participants on an eye-opening tour through today’s rapidly evolving trend landscape to discover why the digital lifestyle is leading to a remarkable revolution in our social dialog. See how humans are adapting as smartphones and social networking weave themselves into the fabric of life, and explore such fascinating phenomena as our “lappy” culture, virtual realtors, CrackBerry addiction, DWT (driving while texting), and the growing incidence of control freakism.

Tchong is an inspiration to any savvy travel business development director or marketer, and following his address you’ll grasp why Starbucks is the new McDonald’s, why single occupancy is set to replace double occupancy, and why experience is our new luxury.

When distribution guru and managing director of The Estis Group Cindy Estis Green takes to the stage, she will “demystify distribution.” In this dynamic session, she will review the highlights of the latest special report published by the HSMAI Foundation, including an update on statistics and trends related to distribution. In follow-up panel discussion, she will outline the key strategies hotels and destinations must take today to manage this changing landscape by interviewing leaders from each of the major channels: online travel agency, global distribution system, metasearch engine, hotel brand and a destination.

In his luncheon keynote address, CTO’s director general, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, will discuss “The Rich Media Revolution in Caribbean Marketing.” Many Caribbean marketers are stuck in a text-based world and have forgotten the old adage of “a picture tells a thousand words.” From providing information on the aftermath of a hurricane to a new natural spa in Dominica, the most credible path to delivering information is via sights and sounds.

The third annual event moves to San Juan, Puerto Rico this year, and will be held from Dec. 13-14, 2007 at the InterContinental Resort & Casino. Created for hoteliers and tourism officials doing business in the Caribbean region, the program will feature prominent professional speakers and industry experts participating in a series of breakout sessions in four areas:

• Destination Marketing & Branding
• Internet Marketing & eCommerce
• Integrated Marketing Communications
• Managing Your Revenue Mix

“The information and ideas that will be generated from this impressive line-up of keynote addresses makes this conference one not to be missed by any sales and marketing professionals doing business in the Caribbean,” states Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president & CEO of HSMAI.

“In only three years, this joint conference with CHA and HSMAI has become a must-attend event for both general managers and sales and marketing directors of Caribbean hotels,” said Alec Sanguinetti, director general and CEO of CHA. “We are pleased to be able to deliver a program that is designed to help our member hotels focus on the latest marketing trends to capture more business,” he added.

The event is targeted to a range of industry professionals, including:

• Hotel and resort sales and marketing directors, general managers and owners;
• Corporate sales, marketing and operations directors and managers;
• Destination marketing organization sales and marketing directors and managers;
• Government officials, ministers of tourism and representatives of national tourism bureaus.
• A sponsor of the conference is TravelScream. Conference agenda, registration and sponsorship details are available at www.caribbeanstrategyconference.com. Those interested in sponsorships can also contact Bob Gilbert at HSMAI, (703) 610-9024 or bgilbert@hsmai.org.

The cost to attend if registered before Nov. 1 is $395 for HSMAI or CHA members and $495 for non-members (including a six-month trial membership in HSMAI). After Nov. 1 the cost is $495 for HSMAI or CHA members and $595 for non-members (including a six-month trial membership in HSMAI).

HSMAI
HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry, and bringing together customers and members at annual events, including HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings®. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 39 chapters in the Americas Region.

CHA
The Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) is dedicated to optimizing the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving member needs and building partnerships. The members of CHA represent the entire spectrum of the hospitality industry’s private sector, from over 800 member hotels with more than 126,000 hotel rooms in 35 national hotel associations, to allied members including airline executives, tour operators, travel agents, trade and consumer press, hotel and restaurant suppliers, and others. www.caribbeanhotelassociation.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 12:11 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.