No.15 - October 10th, 2008

 

In this edition
Crime Stoppers Antigua
 
CHA Education Foundation
 
Expedia
 
October Members Luncheon
 
Antigua & Barbuda Literary Festival
 
Buccaneer Beach Club
 
Travelers' Internet habits
 
 
 
New Members October 2008
 
Buccaneer Beach Resort
 
Sugar Ridge
 
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On the Move
 
Trevor MacDonald has been appointed as the new General manager of Sunsail Club Colonna. Trevor is no stranger to the hotel industry in Antigua having served in managerial positions at Rex Halcyon Cove and Jolly Beach Resort.
 
Pam Constantine has taken up the position of Financial Controller at Blue Waters. Pam was most recently at Hermitage Bay but prior to that has held similar positions at St James' Club, Carlisle Bay and Jolly Beach Vacations. 
 
Shane Hashemi is the new General Manager at the Grand Royal Antiguan. Shane arrives in Antigua from Hawaii where he was General Manager at the Prince Hotel at Waikiki Beach.
 
 
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Hotel closures Summer 2008
Sunsail Colonna - May - October 17th
Jumby Bay - June 6th - 2009
Curtain Bluff - August 23rd - November 1st
Admiral's Inn - August 12th - October 18th
Galleon Beach - May 31st -  November 15th
Long Bay - May 6th - October 22nd
The Inn - May 1st - November 1st
Blue Heron by rex resorts -
August 5th - December 5th
LightHouse Bay Resort 
1st Sept - 25th October
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Average Hotel occupancies 2008
 
January - 74.1%
February - 81.1%
March - 72.7%
April - 72.4%
May - 63.7%
June - 57.3%
July - 58.2%
August - 57.8%
 
For more detailed information
click here
 
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 Upcoming Events
 
Monthly Members Luncheon
Carlisle Bay
- 16th October

Stanford 20/20 for 20 Super Series
Saturday October 25th:
Stanford Superstars v. Trinidad & Tobago
Sunday October 26th: England v. Middlesex
Monday October 27th: Trinidad & Tobago v. Middlesex
Tuesday October 28th: England v. Trinidad & Tobago
Thursday October 30th: Stanford Superstars v. Middlesex Saturday November 1st - Stanford 20 20 for 20:
Stanford Superstars v. England
 
     

Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival
Jolly Beach Resort
- 7th-9th November
 
World Travel Market
                
 - 10th - 13th November
   
Saint Lucia
- 18 - 20th January
 
Antigua Culinary Festival
- 27th - 29th March 2009
 
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ABS Series - "This is My Day" schedule
 
Wednesday 15th October 8.00pm
Maurine Bowers – Hermitage Bay
Wednesday 22nd October 8.00pm
Carlos Harrigan – Curtain Bluff
Wednesday 29th October 8.00pm
Beverly King – Jolly Beach Resort & Spa
Wednesday 5th November 8.00pm
Dinah Bailey – Catamaran Hotel
Wednesday 12th November 8.00pm
Deonne Maxine – Carlisle Bay 
 
is at your service to help you fill those vacant positions. At no cost we will post any vacant positions to the website.
 
Just send in the details to the AHTA Office
Welcome to the  Newsletter of the Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association.

Crime Stoppers Antigua

Following the tragic events of this summer a group of private sector stakeholders spearheaded by the Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association decided to react and look at ways to help reduce crime in Antigua and Barbuda. It was decided to introduce to Antigua a Crime Stoppers programme. Formed over thirty years ago in the USA and now present throughout the world, Crime Stoppers is an international organisation that encourages local citizens to help the Police by giving tips and information through an anonymous telephone line and website. In Antigua the organisation will be managed by a Board made up of a wide range of stakeholder representatives working with a co-ordinator appointed by the Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force.

The project is presently in the set-up phase and it is hoped to have it live and running for November 1st. A special telephone line 800.TIPS has been established,  this is not a toll free number but an easily remembered number that Crime Stoppers hopes to adopt throughout the Caribbean. Calls will not be answered in Antigua to guard the anonymity of the callers but forwarded to a call centre in Jamaica.

The Regional Director of Crime Stoppers International, Alex MacDonald who is based in Bermuda, is currently in Antigua working with the team to help finalize the project details.

The project is now looking to the business community to help with funding. Initial estimates call for a budget of EC$50.000 in the first year for the set up and the marketing. This is a project which will benefit the whole community. Any donations would be greatly appreciated, cheques should be sent to the AHTA made out to Crime Stoppers Antigua Ltd. 
CHAEF        


The CHA Education Foundation was established in 1987 and has awarded nearly US$1 million in scholarships which have made a difference in the lifes of over 300 Caribbean students and tourism industry personnel.
 
The CHAEF is asking for your help in generating funds for the 2009 scholarships by giving either a monetary donation or a hotel stay that can be auctioned on line through Sky Auctions.
 
To obtain a donation form click here.  
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Antigua and Barbuda is currently running a banner advert campaign on www.expedia.com. Banners are currently showing on several expedia pages in an effort to drive business to the 23 of the island's properties currently listed on the site. You can check out the Antigua landing page by clicking here.
October's Membership Luncheon
 

The next Membership luncheon will be held on Thursday October 16th at midday at Carlisle Bay. The presenter will be Ms Nadine King, the Caribbean representative for Vingcard & Elsafe. Nadine will be updating us on the latest technologies in electonic door locks and in-room guest safes.

As guest safety and security should at the top of every hotelier's agenda at this time, this will be a very timely and interesting topic.
 
There will be a cover charge of EC$100 payable at the door. Please let the AHTA office know if you will be attending.

 

 
Mark your Calendars for the Third Annual Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival, to be held Nov. 7-9 at the Jolly Beach Resort and Spa. Among the noted authors who will be involved in the many workshops and panels are Victoria Rowell, Eric Jerome Dickey, Arnold Rampersad, Esmeralda Santiago, Mary B. Morrison, Elizabeth Nunez, Roscoe Orman and many more. For a complete list as well, check www.antiguaandbarbudaliteraryfestival.com. We will be providing hotel concierges with packets of flyers, schedules and registration forms, in case guests want to attend.
 
This year, in addition to the workshops at Jolly Beach, the Festival will be hosting the Jolly Harbour Festival Village on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8 & 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s a literary street fair free to the public, with author readings and signings, live entertainment, children’s activities, food demonstrations, food and drink. Your guests are invited to come and enjoy this uniquely Antiguan celebration.
New Member
Buccaneer Beach Resort
 
Buccaneer Beach Club is the newest hotel on a beautiful beach of Dickenson Bay on the north-west coast of Antigua. It is a small, self-catering, intimate hotel with friendly personalized service. All the poolside villas and the beachfront cottages are furnished in modern Caribbean style.

Buccaneer Beach Club is located just 5 miles (15 minutes drive) from V.C. Bird International Airport and 2 miles (5 minutes drive) from the capital city and main shopping area of St. John’s. A small grocery store, restaurants, casinos and nightclubs are within walking distance. Watersports, golf, gym and tennis area also nearby.

Dickenson Bay
P.O.Box 327
St. John’s 

 
Tel: 1.268.562.6785
Fax: 1.268.562.6784
buccaneerbeachclub@candw.ag  
www.buccaneerbeach.com
 
 Study Reveals "Tech-savvy" Travelers' Internet Habits
ORLANDO, Fla. (October 8, 2008) - The media habits of tech-savvy travelers - those who, by self-report, are active users of the latest computer, gaming and entertainment technology - differ considerably from those who are less wired according to the "NEXTgen Traveler" survey of 2,559 adults conducted in March 2008. Co-authored by Ypartnership and PhoCusWright, this in-depth exploration of the travel habits and preferences of active users of the latest computer, gaming and entertainment technology challenges some prevailing myths about this emerging market segment.

More than half (56 percent) prefer to read newspapers online while People (8 percent) and Time (6 percent) top the list of their preferred magazines. These travelers tend to watch the Fox (13 percent) and Discovery (12 percent) cable television networks and listen to rock (45 percent), classic rock (42 percent) or top 40/pop music (39 percent).

Tech-savvy travelers are active users of the Internet for a variety of
applications beyond sending and receiving email (89 percent), as reflected in their online behavior. Fully seven out of 10 (71 percent) use the Internet to search for information about travel experiences and travel service suppliers while others download music (81 percent), photos (69 percent) and video (59 percent), shop online auction sites such as eBay (67 percent), and access the Internet via cell phone (33 percent).

"Surprisingly, next generation travelers are active participants in and
contributors to general social networking sites but are less frequent visitors of travel-specific versions of social networking sites," said Peter C. Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Ypartnership, co-author of the survey. Only one in seven (14 percent) visits TripAdvisor while other sites such as MySpace (56 percent), Facebook (30 percent) and YouTube (34 percent) are visited more frequently.

For further information on the NEXTgen Traveler™ survey, visit the
Publications section of www.ypartnership.com.

 

Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association
PO Box 454, Island House, Newgate Street
St John's
Antigua
 E-mail: neil@antiguahotels.org
http://www.antiguahotels.org