Final Agenda Set For 2nd Annual Caribbean Sales & Marketing Conference Presented By HSMAI & CHA In Miami Dec. 7-8, 2006

Registrants run the gamut, from CEOs, Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents of Sales & Marketing, Information Technology Officers and General Managers, to Regional Directors, Sales Managers and Marketing Coordinators.

A sampling of companies attending are: Tourist Boards including Anguilla, Curacao, Grenada, Jamaica and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO); Hotel & Tourism Associations including Aruba, Turks & Caicos and the U.S. Virgin Islands; as well as hotels/hotel companies such as Best Western International, Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, Cendyn, Driftwood Hospitality Management, Hilton Caribbean, Holiday Inn SunSpree Resorts Aruba & Jamaica, Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa, Sunterra Resorts and SuperClubs Hedonism III.

The two-day dynamic agenda, including powerful keynotes by Chip Conley, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and Peter Yesawich, will delve into a wide range of sales and marketing topics and tools, while addressing the differences and nuances for both hoteliers and tourism officials doing business in the Caribbean region.

“From dynamic speakers to a line-up of educational tracks that are relevant, timely and information-rich, it is a must-attend for any sales and marketing professional in travel and hospitality seeking to greatly expand their knowledge base,” states Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI.

“An interesting feature of this conference is the creative energy that will result from the interaction between sales and marketing professionals at the top of their game and colleagues new to the hotel and tourism industry or new in a position that requires these competencies,” adds Alec Sanguinetti, CHA director general and CEO.

The agenda is as follows:

THURSDAY, DEC. 7, 2006

9-11 am:
Special pre-conference workshop “Learn. Market. Measure. Repeat. – Strategic Market Planning for the New World” with John Fareed, Fareed and Zapala Marketing Partners (separate registration required)

A new step-by-step process for developing a strategic marketing plan arrived at through an integrated team process utilizing primary research, secondary research, competitive analysis, and an inventory of your hotel’s current marketing processes and tools. This new strategic market planning process gets your hotel’s team on the same page, makes your marketing tools much more effective and timely, your creative stronger with clearer, more believable messages, and provides greater return on every marketing dollar.

Noon-12:15 pm:
Conference Open & Welcome with Alec Sanguinetti, CHA Director General and CEO, and Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, President and CEO of HSMAI

12:15-12:45 pm:
Lunch

12:45-2:15 pm:
Opening Session Keynote: “How Rebels (Should) Rule the Caribbean” with Chip Conley, Founder and CEO, Joie de Vivre Hospitality

Headlining the conference is hospitality guru and ‘new Caribbean success story’ Chip Conley with a powerful keynote address on “The Rebel Rules.” One of the world’s best-known hoteliers and a respected business philosopher, he is also the author and co-author of three books: Marketing that Matters: 10 Practices to Profit Your Business & Change the World; The Rebel Rules: Daring to Be Yourself in Business; and Business Rules of Thumb. He’ll be sharing insights in successful niche marketing and customer service that have made Joie de Vivre Hospitality successful and are applicable to hotels and destinations in the Caribbean. These insights are applicable to any hotel, large or small, brand or independent. They can also be applied to destinations that are striving to develop or enhance their brand and service reputation.

2:15-3:30 pm:
Breakouts (four tracks)

Internet Marketing & eCommerce: Best Practices in Internet Marketing for Resorts: Harnessing the Power of Online Marketing
A presentation of the best practices that emerged from the HSMAI Resort Special Interest Group initiative examining the use of Internet Marketing in resorts. The study established eight building blocks that need to be in place in order to gain optimum power from a resort’s online marketing toolkit. A panel of resort marketers will discuss challenges in marketing an independent resort, successful approaches to the basics of Internet marketing: search engine optimization, online linkage campaigns, online advertising, the effective use of email, and new techniques to meet changing consumer demands. Speakers: Cindy Estis Green, Managing Partner, The Estis Group; C.A. Clark, Director of Electronic Publishing, Miles Media; Sal Dickinson, CHME, Chief Executive, Dickinson & Associates and Karen Nasuti, President, Nasuti & Hinkle

Communications Management: Promoting, Positioning and Profiting - The Power of Public Relations
Learn the fundamentals of public relations from a panel of experts: why public relations is an important part of the marketing mix, how to think like a journalist, and use creativity to distinguish your property from others. Speakers: Nina Zapala, Partner, Fareed & Zapala Marketing Partners; Veronica Stoddart, Editor, USA Today and Verona Carter, Area Director of Public Relations-Caribbean, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company

Managing Your Mix of Business: Defining Revenue Management: Topline to Bottomline
Examines the fundamentals necessary to maximize revenue at a hotel or resort through a disciplined revenue management process. Understanding the market, market segmentation, interdepartmental integration, demand forecasting, strategic pricing, inventory strategies, and performance analysis will all be introduced. Each session participant will receive a complimentary copy of the recently published HSMAI special report on this topic. Speaker: Barb Bowden, Corporate Director of Revenue Management, Peabody Hotels

3:30-3:45 pm:
Break

3:45-5:00 pm:
Breakouts (four tracks)

Destination Marketing & Branding: Managing Your Destination as a Brand
Every destination is competing for a place in the mind of the consumer and how you position yourself in the marketplace and deliver on your brand promise are the keys to success. This presentation uses case studies of other destinations and travel brands to illustrate how to meet the challenge and successfully examine your own brand platform. The session is lead by a noted travel marketer who has worked with such leading brands as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Harley-Davidson and Emirates and such premier destinations as The Islands Of The Bahamas, Barbados and Hong Kong . Speaker: Gary Leopold, President, ISM

Internet Marketing & eCommerce: Where to Start: Developing a Strategic Hospitality Online Marketing Plan
An introduction to the methodology and tools needed to create a marketing plan for online advertising in a format that general managers, owners and directors of sales and marketing can relate to. Case studies will be presented with time for group discussions and questions. Moderator: Loren Gray, Director of E-Commerce, Ocean Properties LTD Panelists: Jon Schepke, President, Strategic Internet Marketing Partners; Aaron Brown, Producer, TravelZoo, Inc. and Henry Woodman, President ICEPortal

Communications Management: Disasters and Tourism: Managing Crises or Managing Risk?
An overview of the products and tools developed to assist the industry to prepare and respond to hurricanes and other impacts on small islands and developing states. It will also identify initiatives underway to mainstream disaster management in tourism planning. A case study of the Post-Ivan sector recovery issues in post-sector hazard will be shared. Speaker: Jeremy Collymore, Coordinator, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency

Managing Your Mix of Business: Best Practices in Revenue Management
Three very distinct perspectives on how revenue management principles can be applied in a hotel environment. Experts in the discipline will review the nuances of revenue management in the region as well as applications at large and small independent properties and in a corporate environment. Moderator: Barb Bowden, Corporate Director of Revenue Management, Peabody Hotels. Panelists: Rob Hatcher, Area Director of Revenue Management, Ritz Carlton; Josea Brown, Director of Revenue, Mango Bay Resort and John Cather, Regional Revenue Director, Elite Island Resorts

4:45-6:00 pm:
Networking reception

FRIDAY, DEC. 8, 2006

8:30-10:00 am:
Buffet breakfast and roundtable discussions with subject matter experts leading the discussion

10:15-11:30 am:
Breakouts (four tracks)

Destination Marketing & Branding: Marketing Your Property for Sustainability and Profit
If you are going to jump on the sustainable band wagon you need to know some things about what your customers are going to expect in your marketing and when they get to your property. Learn the next steps in making your property sustainable after the towel and linen reuse program that everyone has now. Moderator: Barry Benjamin, Vice President, Peace & Plenty Management

Internet Marketing & eCommerce: Cool Internet Tools to Define Your Competition and Your Market Space Online
A presentation of online tools used in hospitality eCommerce campaigns and review the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each method. Moderator: Loren Gray, Director of E-Commerce, Ocean Properties LTD. Panelists: Ryan Bifuco, President, TravelSpike; Richard Stokes, President, AdGooroo and Michael Wylie, Founder, Standing Dog Interactive Media & Marketing

Communications Management: Winning Case Studies in Integrated Marketing Communications
Through a series of case studies, integrated marketing strategies and techniques utilized by small hotels and resorts to grow market share, win media coverage, improve guest experience, and ultimately, compete successfully against their rivals will be illustrated. The discussion will include creative examples of in-room amenities, unique service offerings, distinctive packaging, and persuasive advertising, direct marketing, interactive, and public relations initiatives. Speaker: John Fareed, Partner, Fareed & Zapala Marketing Partners

Managing Your Mix of Business: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Through the Eyes of 25 Resort Companies: HSMAI Best Practices
Many resorts strive to build customer relationship management into their operations and their marketing plans. Now the buzzword in play is Customer Experience Management. HSMAI's Resort Special Interest Group Best Practices initiative examined this subject through the eyes of almost 25 resort companies to evaluate the fundamental elements needed to establish CRM in a resort setting. This session will review the highlights. Speakers: Cindy Estis Green, Managing Partner, The Estis Group; Maureen O'Hanlon, Senior Consultant, The Prism Partnership; Madigan Pratt, Managing Partner, Madigan Pratt & Assocites and Tom Littleton, President, LMG Data Mining

11:30-12:15 pm:
Lunch

12:15-1:15 pm:
Keynote address: “The Most Well Known Destination Brand in the World” with Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, Secretary General, Caribbean Tourism Organization

1:15-2:30 pm:
Group Interview: Peter Yesawich, President & CEO of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown, & Russell, will interview leaders of public/private destination marketing organizations and campaigns to address issues that are vital in partnerships between industry and government to promote travel and tourism.

2:45-5:00 pm:
Breakouts (four tracks)

Destination Marketing & Branding: Defining Your Marketplace From a Global Perspective
Language, rich media, and brand awareness are just a few of the aspects to consider in positioning a destination in the global market. See how major brands and distribution sites manage these positioning challenges and how research and global awareness can and should be part of your marketing strategy. Moderator: Richard Stokes, President, AdGooroo

Internet Marketing & eCommerce: How Does the Internet See You? Tools & Techniques That Enable You to Get Found
Learn about how search engines, advertising sites, and other types of websites can drive traffic to your site and help more consumers find your hotel or destination. Moderator: Jon Schepke, President, Strategic Internet Marketing Partners. Panelists: Adam Dorfman, Partner, Strategic Internet Marketing Partners; Henry Woodman, President, ICEPortal; Michael Wylie, Founder, Standing Dog Interactive Media & Marketing

Communications Management: The New Communications Tool Box: Managing Consumer Driven Content & Communication Online
This session will define how and what the online consumer sites are doing to shape perceptions and influence purchases. Discussion will include how to incorporate marketing strategies including media rich content, local mapping and destination services, real simple syndication, blogs, video podcasts, and other evolving mediums. Moderator: Loren Gray, Director of E-Commerce, Ocean Properties LTD. Panelists: Ryan Bifuco, President, TravelSpike and Tom Griffin, President, TravelScream

5:00 pm:
Conference wrap

Additionally, the Organization of American States (OAS) is hosting tourism directors from 30 destinations located in the Caribbean, Central, and South America and will host a half-day session for those attendees at which time they will also present the research findings of a study on the status and potential for the use of information technology in tourism marketing,

Conference partners include Incite Response, INTENT MediaWorks/MyTravelNetwork.com, Real Magnet, Resort Images, Resort Technology Partners, LLC (RTP), TIG Global, Tralliance, and Ultrabooking Solutions, Inc. Partnership opportunities are available. For information, contact Melanie Penoyar, HSMAI’s director of development at 703-245-8037 or [email protected].

Registration for the two-day event is $395 for members of HSMAI or CHA, and $495 for non-members. For more information and to register, visit or contact Melixa Marrero of the Caribbean Hotel Association at 787-725-9139, ext. 231.

HSMAI | HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry, and bringing together customers and members at annual events. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising nearly 7,000 members worldwide, with 36 chapters in the Americas Region.

For more information on HSMAI, contact the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102, phone (703) 610-9024; fax (703) 610-9005. You can also visit the web site at .

CHA | The Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) is dedicated to optimizing the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving member needs and building partnerships. The members of CHA represent the entire spectrum of the hospitality industry’s private sector, from over 800 member hotels with more than 126,000 hotel rooms in 35 national hotel associations, to allied members including airline executives, tour operators, travel agents, trade and consumer press, hotel and restaurant suppliers, and others. .