Some 350 participants attended the 12th Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operational Summit (“CHICOS”) held at Westin Beach Resort and Spa at Frenchman’s Reef, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands from 12th to 14th November 2023 and continued the hugely successful progress of this leading gathering of players in the resort development and operation of tourism in the Caribbean.
The mood was very upbeat declaring the Caribbean resort market was “On Fire” with ADR, Occupancy and Length of Stay breaking all previous records with the resilience of the tourist industry in the Caribbean appropriately illustrating the theme of this year’s CHICOS “Shining in the New Normal”.
BCL’s chairman Martyn Bould has been a speaker at every one of the twelve events and this year moderated a panel of experts discussing Opportunities in the Caribbean - Which Products and Which Islands? which included Louis Alicea, Senior Director of Development, Caribbean – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Bill Clegg, Regional Director, Franchise Development – Best Western Andrew Dickey, Managing Director - JLL Hotels & Hospitality Alexandra Lalos Church, Managing Director - Hodges Ward Elliott Alex Mai, Regional VP of Development, LATAM & Caribbean – IHG who took a deep dive into the opportunities and how they either advised clients as to the type of product to choose on which islands or how their brands viewed investment requests to the delight of a most attentive and complimentary audience.
Key challenges were high interest rates and the difficulty of securing insurance and the current trend in flight costs, routes and frequencies being a deterrent for certain locations. Of note was the interest of family office funding in Caribbean for well-structured projects. In the luxury sector the inclusion of branded residences as part of the resort mix appears to be a “must have”.
As always CHICOS provided a unique opportunity to gather together in one location highly experienced players in the tourist field from Government, Operators, Investors, Developers, Lenders and Professional Advisors.
Caribbean Very Much "Open for Business" Despite 2017 Devastating Hurricanes Key Topicat Seventh Annual Chicos Conference.
Bould Consulting Limited long association with the British Virgin Islands and our many friends and business colleagues there, enabled a rapid response to assist with the rebuild following the devastation caused by hurricane Irma and Maria in September 2017.
