Generating business during a recession is what acclaimed American hotel executives will share with Barbadian counterparts at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre today.
Brian Parker, one of the Choice Hotels executives and vice president of emerging markets and new business development, is slated to visit Barbados today to help hotel properties find ways of boosting business during the recessionary environment.
Parker, who this year was named to Savoy magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America, is scheduled to arrive with Jose Salvador Icaza, director of Caribbean Franchise Development, to
identify hotel owners and investors in Barbados interested in exploring affiliation or franchising opportunities for mid- to-upscale properties.
In partnership with the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, Parker and Icaza will deliver a punchy 15-minute Power Of Choice presentation highlighting Choice’s Ascend Collection membership programme.
Unlike many competing arrangements, Ascend features state-of-the-art revenue management and marketing systems designed to help drive small hotel business in a struggling market.
Ascend Collection properties, found only in the Americas, are Historic, Boutique or Unique hotels demonstrating a commitment to service excellence.
“Expanding our footprint throughout the Caribbean is critical to our continued success in the region, and Barbados especially is a highly desirable market for our brands,” said Parker, who added that Choice was aiming to add two to three properties in Barbados to their system over the next 12 months.
Parker also reasoned that since many independent hotels throughout Barbados and the Caribbean were struggling to generate higher occupancies and average daily room rates, Choice Hotels was offering prized access to a global customer base via its powerful reservations platform. (PR)
