Capaldi loves his career

Wayne Capaldi has twice found himself at the helm of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association when that organisation required a level head to guide the tourism industry through troubled waters at the height of international crises with potentially disastrous consequences for Barbados’ tourism industry.He was first elected president of the BHTA on the heels of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, and again during the term for which he has just demitted office, he and his membership faced the fall-out from the international financial crisis.And he confessed to the Sunday Sun, “I was really very concerned about the economic crisis . . . it caused me a few sleepless nights.”But putting his head down with his members, strategy was devised to counter the fall-out and Capaldi said, “We had to look at ourselves . . . we put our resources into more marketing”.And he credits Government’s US $25 million Tourism Industry Relief Fund to the industry for its assistance in sustaining tourism-related businesses at all levels. “That helped tremendously.”Sitting in the luxuriant ambience of Sandpiper Hotel, the West Coast property which Capaldi has managed for the past 25 years, he shared his views and experience from half a century during which he saw Barbados’ tourism evolve.“I have always worked in summer jobs. I started out wanting to be a pilot. It started out being my boyhood dream. But when he discovered he was colour blind, he switched course, opting for the hotel studies instead. “I have never looked back – in terms of regret,” he remarked.Educated in Canada, Capaldi returned to Barbados and was employed by the Sandpiper Hotel.Of those early days in the industry he says, “It was a lot less structured . . . I think back then there was a lot more camaraderie . . . there was a lot more time for social recreation and interaction among ourselves.“But I think what changed the industry, where it became more business-oriented, more scientific was really when we had the first Gulf War, and business became very tough . . . it caused a lot of people to sit up and think of what their business really was.”Today he is heartened by “the incredibly good professionals’ who run the industry. Still he has some concerns which he willingly shared.“I think Barbados has done remarkably well. But because we are so highly regarded, I would like to see that we are the ones who blaze the trail.“I would like to see us innovate more.” Also, Capaldi thinks because this is an industry generating around $2.4 billion annually, the Ministry of Tourism should be “part of the Ministry of Finance”.While he compliments management and staff of the Barbados Tourism Authority for the work done over the years to promote the industry, he suggests: “I would like to see some changes in the Barbados Tourism Authority. We need to have a more efficient state-run agency” and he believes the private sector has a more involved role to play.At the same time he suggests the private sector itself also needs “to take a serious look at the [tourism] product”.“We have to pay more attention to our product,” her said, adding that and he advocates constant upgrades of properties to maintain the image of a fresh, well-kept hotel plant. In addition, he suggests the time may be ripe to reconsider classification of hotels.Sandpiper Hotel prides itself on having a well-trained cadre of staff, and Capaldi puts it down to that fact that the majority were trained by the hotel itself.The subject of training for the local hotel industry also draws observations from the hotelier, which imply the need for revamping of the Division of Hospitality Studies to more adequately meet industry needs.While he acknowledges that institution as being “good for providing a basic set of skills”, he also thinks it “needs to revisit itself and ask if it is really meeting the needs of the industry at all levels”.For an industry that is the lifeblood of Barbados, Capaldi believes tourism training should begin in schools, as an integral part of the curriculum, with reinforcement coming from the home.“This is a vital industry and we need to start training people for the industry from young.” With lead responsibility for the BHTA behind him, Capaldi plans to fully devote his energies to the Sandpiper Hotel once again.At 50, he will also try to cushion work with some recreation, perhaps on the golf course.