CEO JEFFREY VASSER LEAVING AT END OF YEAR

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) announced that after 14 months on the job, CEO and Director General Jeffrey Vasser is leaving the Association to pursue other interests.

“The parting is a mutual and amicable decision between CHTA and Mr. Vasser,” said Emil Lee, president of CHTA. “We have already begun the process of vetting a replacement for CEO,” Lee added.

“It is hoped that an announcement of a new CEO can be made prior to Caribbean Travel Marketplace taking place in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the end of January,” said Lee.

The CEO and Director General is responsible for guiding and managing the growth of CHTA’s role as the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry.

Vasser joined CHTA on Nov. 18, 2013, after serving as President of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority (ACCVA). He replaced Alec Sanguinetti who retired after 19 years with the organization.

Founded in 1962, CHTA represents the entire spectrum of the hospitality industry’s private sector including 33 National Hotel Associations across the Caribbean region, over 600 individual hotel members with approximately 91,000 rooms, and more than 300 Allied members.

CHTA represents its members in areas of marketing and advocacy, and ensures that their voices are heard on legislative matters, as well as helping members with operating proficiencies, incremental revenue generation and the delivery of a high-quality guest experience.

CHTA’s hotel member companies are comprised of properties of all sizes – from small boutique properties to mega resorts with international notoriety – each appealing to different market bases. CHTA-member hotels employ approximately 100,000 employees that are based in the Caribbean as well as a worldwide network of sales and marketing personnel throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.

In 2012, CHTA hotel members earned an estimated $3.9 billion in room revenue alone. Additional revenue sources for CHTA hotel members include the food & beverage industry, weddings and honeymoons, tours and excursions, family activities, gaming plus meetings and incentive groups, all of which add billions of dollars in revenue to local Caribbean economies annually.

As a benefit to membership, CHTA offers several successful events over the course of the year, including the Caribbean Hospitality Investment Conference and Operations Summit (CHICOS), Taste of the Caribbean Culinary Event and Competition, and Caribbean Travel Marketplace taking place January 28-30, 2015 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. CHTA is also planning the launch of a new conference called Caribbean Hospitality Industry Education Forum (CHIEF) Oct. 2-4, 2015 at El Conquistador, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, in Puerto Rico.

CHTA is also a partner with the Caribbean Tourism Organization in the Caribbean Tourism Development Company and its consumer facing website www.CaribbeanTravel.com.

Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members’ needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. CHTA 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 CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshaling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 600 member hotels and over 300 allied members.

CHTA, including the events staged by the association, is supported by Strategic Partners MasterCard, Interval International, OBMI International, HVS, Tambourine and TravelZoo.

For more information contact Vanessa Ledesma at 305-443-3040, e-mail: Vanessa@caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.

Visit http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com. Follow CHTA on Facebook Facebook.com/CaribbeanHotelandTourismAssociation and Twitter Twitter.com/CHTAFeeds.