This Week at the SLHTA, January 31st, 2014

Friday, January 31st, 2014   In This Week’s Edition SALCC Students of Hospitality Motivated by Tourism & Hospitality Titan Horst Schulze SALCC Students of Hospitality Motivated by Tourism & Hospitality Titan Horst Schulze LUCELEC Club Tree Planting Excursion American Airlines Profits Climb after Merger SLHTA Met Hotel Employees to discuss Tourism Enhancement Fund Popular St. Lucia Resorts Taps Savills Hospitality Group to Raise Expansion Funds Coco Palm Wins Traveler’s Choice Award 2014 The Saint Lucia Tourism Industry to receive Training from British Travel Agents The design vision for Capella Marigot Bay by OBM International (OBMI) “Business of the Year” thanks employees, customers and partners Charting a Future – Building Community of Project Managers Can’t make it to a doctor? Try these remedies Thomas Cook to close Birkenshaw office Quick Links… SLHTA Website SLTB Website Creative Industries Visitor Channel St. Lucia’s Sexy Appeal 8th Wonder of the World World Travel Awards CHTA Website CTO Website Caribbean360 CaribbeanTravel UNWTO     THIS IS IT!!!  NINA COMPTON-MILLER Advances to Finals of Top Chef SALCC Students of Hospitality Motivated by Tourism & Hospitality Titan Horst Schulze   Award-winning hotelier, Horst Schulze who has opened luxury hotels across the globe gave a motivational speech to the students and faculty of the ArthurLewisCommunity College’s Division of Hospitality on January 29th, 2014.  Schulze, is a highly reputed titan in international hospitality and tourism circles, and a highly sought after motivational speaker, more so because of the deep resonance of his personal success story with workers at all levels of the hospitality industry.   Captivating the full auditorium of hospitality students, Schulze talked about his humble beginnings before rising to become one of the hospitality industry’s noted hotel innovators .He also gave a preview of what’s to come at Capella’s latest hotel in Marigot Bay, and how this can translate into opportunity for those desiring more employment options within a service-strong resort brand.   Since the young age of 11 years old, Schulze had always Read More LUCELEC Club Tree Planting Excursion   St Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) was one of the companies which joined Governor-General Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy in a national drive to restore our forests following the devastation of Hurricane Tomas in 2010.   Along with financial assistance, staff volunteered to plant trees alongside storm ravaged river banks and slopes. It was an experience that struck a chord with the LUCELEC Sports Club, an organization of and for LUCELEC staff which functions to provide social and cultural activities for the company’s hundreds More In Other News: American Airlines Profits Climb after Merger   American Airlines saw net profits climb for 2013 on the back of its merger with US Airways. The American Airlines Group combined net profit was $1.9 billion, up from  $407 million in 2012, excluding special charges.   Profit for the fourth quarter of last year came in at $436 million against a loss of $42 million in  More SLHTA Met Hotel Employees to discuss  Tourism Enhancement Fund The Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) on Thursday 30th January met with employees of its Hotel Members to conduct an official orientation on the newly established Tourism Enhancement Fund.  The Fund was launched on October 1st 2013 and since then a total of 21 Hotel Properties have come on board to support the initiative. The Orientation was held at the Bay Gardens Hotel’s Lantana Conference Room with approximately 25 people in attendance. The orientation was facilitated by Mr. Noorani Azeez, Executive Vice President of SLHTA. The purpose of the orientation was to familiarize the employees with the TEF and the intentions of the Funds generated. Mr. Azeez also took the opportunity to encouraged them to persuade their guests to contribute to the worthwhile initiative, because in the end, all Saint Lucians benefits.  This orientation is one of a series of workshops theSLHTA have committed to over the year, to create a greater awareness of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). The Tourism Enhancement Fund has been created to allow the SLHTAto play an integral part in the sustainable development of our destination. Through the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the SLHTA will be able to direct development efforts where they are most needed. Popular St. Lucia Resort Taps Savills Hospitality Group to Raise Expansion Funds Savills Hospitality Group, a U.S.-based unit of an international real estate services firm, has been retained by Jalousie Ltd. as its exclusive advisor to assist in raising joint venture equity or debt for the expansion of Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort in St. Lucia, West Indies. Formerly known as The Jalousie Plantation, Sugar Beach is an 18th-century, British Colonial-style resort set within a roughly 125-acre estate in the valley of the Pitons, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site.  Full Story Here  COCO PALM  VOTED TRIP ADVISOR TRAVELER’S CHOICE AWARD 2014 Ranked in top 25 list of Best Bargain Hotels in Caribbean   TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice awards 2014 voted Coco Palm in the top 25 of best Bargain hotels in the Caribbean. Votes are determined by customers reviews and value for money.   General Manager, Jean St Rose stated “We are honoured to be given such an accolade from such an influential body as we know just how important this is in endorsing our product. This is voted by our guests and their experience at Coco Palm which we take enormous pride in hosting as the consumer has a lot of choice.” St Rose has personally undertaken the roll of training and he went on to say “Our customer service is something we instill in our Team and it is through each and everyone playing their role which offers our guest a holistic experience and for that am proud to share with all our Coco Palm and KoKo Cabana team members”. More The Saint Lucia Tourism Industry to receive Training from British Travel Agents   Tourism partners across a wide spectrum of the industry are in line to benefit from training in key frontline areas designed to better target the British market. The training, taking the form of a series of workshop seminars, comes as a direct result of a partnership involving the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, theAssociation of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and UK charity Travel Foundation.   Taking place From February 3rd -4th in the north and then again from February 6th -7th in the south, the training will include hoteliers, excursion providers, destination management companies and taxi drivers. Both entities will be presenting on ideas, trends and opportunities to improve and thereby increase visitor expenditure and passenger traffic to the island particularly from the United Kingdom market. Read More The design vision for Capella Marigot Bay by OBM International (OBMI)    Capella Marigot Bay is collaborating with the acclaimed design firm, OBM International (OBMI) to further enhance guest’s experience at the property with a careful and thoughtful redesign of key areas. The resort is fully operational now and welcoming guests but the property will temporarily close from the end of April 2014 until the end of June 2014 so that the redesign is completed to further enhance the guest’s experience at the hotel. Capella’s award-winning service philosophy is also now in place at Capella Marigot Bay. OBMI has adopted a holistic approach with regards to the enhancements at Capella Marigot Bay Hotel, by intertwining modern design with a sense of place. The design is deeply rooted in the very essence of Saint Lucia, incorporating the natural environment of the stunning island destination such as the sun, ocean, the mountains and verdant greenery.   Click Here for Full Details!!  SAINT LUCIA’S ‘BUSINESS OF THE YEAR’ THANKS STAFF, CUSTOMERS & PARTNERS    Support began pouring in last Saturday evening after Bay Gardens Resorts received the 2014 St. Lucia Business Awards’ most prestigious title – Business of the Year. This award, as well as Owner, Joyce Destang’s award for Entrepreneur of the Year, came as a pleasant surprise to the locally owned and operated hotel chain.   “It’s a wonderful feeling,” commented Executive Director, Sanovnik Destang, who proudly received the Business of the Year award on behalf of Bay Gardens Resorts, “On one hand I was shocked because we were up against some tough competition, but on the other hand, I knew we had a really good chance of receiving the award; our staff, managers and HOD’s [Heads of Departments] work diligently every day to ensure that we maintain our high service and business standards.”   Since the event, where Bay Gardens was also a finalist in  More Charting a Future – Building Community of Project Managers   Project Managers in Saint Lucia are currently preparing for the inauguration of the Saint Lucia Branch of the Project Management Institute’s, Southern Caribbean Chapter (PMI-SCC).  This initiative is being undertaken by a committee comprising of eleven (11) Project Management Professionals (PMP) and  chaired by Mrs. Jeanette Jn Louis-Hughes.   The Saint Lucia Branch Formation Project was a decision taken during the observance of International Project Management Day …Full Story Here Can’t make it to a doctor? Try these remedies!!   For a sore throat,dissolve half a teaspoon of non-iodized salt in an 8-ounce glass of water, and simply gargle the water.   For Minor cuts and burns, cough or sore throat, Apply warm honey to a minor cut or mild burn, then put a gauze bandage on top; change the dressing daily.More Remedies  In Other News: Thomas Cook to close Birkenshaw office    Thomas Cook is proposing to close its Birkenshaw office by the end of January 2015.   A 45-day consultation for all 147 employees will begin on Monday, February 3. The companysaid the back office and support functions currently based in Birkenshaw, near Bradford, may be transferred to Peterborough, scrapped or possibly outsourced.   The company said it hoped to retain as many employees as possible, but if the proposal goes ahead some compulsory redundancies are likely. More details on the timings of the changes and the location of each department will form part of the consultation process…. Read Full Story