Hotel executive: Don’t forget the small properties

An international hospitality executive tells the Caribbean not to leave the small hotels behind.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Thursday May 12, 2011 – A senior executive at Choice Hotels International has urged the region’s hotel industry to enhance its resilience by ensuring more focused assistance is given to properties offering mid-scale accommodation.

While cheering the attention heaped on upscale hotels and all-inclusive resorts, Brian Parker, Vice President of Emerging Markets and New Business Development, has insisted that the smaller properties should not be left behind.

He was speaking at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference which is taking place in Montego Bay.

“Now is the time to strengthen the Jamaican and Caribbean hotel sector by going global and by building up mid-size properties," he said.

Parker also suggested that it would be wise to increase focus on promoting properties directly to international travellers attracted to proven brands.

“We want to work with the local hotel ownership community to determine if securing a global hotel brand/membership affiliation can enhance their hotels' performance,” he said.

Noting that the majority of travellers now book accommodation online Parker added that “the multiplicity of choices on the Internet means people will be looking for trusted global hotel brands - so if you're not associated with a global brand, you may be losing business.”

The Choice Hotels executive noted that Jamaica was one of the group’s top target markets in the Caribbean and the company was working with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, the Jamaica Tourist Board and Jamaica Promotions Corporation to enhance the island’s overall tourism product by offering quality, premium and branded mid-scale accommodations. 

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