CHTA Teams Up with HFTP for a Three-year MOU
HFTP partners with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association to expand the delivery of resources, education programming, certification and more.
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has signed a three-year agreement with the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) association to expand the delivery of resources for members of both organizations.
The Memorandum of Understanding allows members to access finance and technology-related education on topics such as upscaling workforce automation and staffing, cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cybersecurity. These master classes are being developed by CHTA, while experts are to be supplied by HFTP. CHTA members also will benefit from complimentary exhibits registration for HITEC North America, the world's largest hospitality technology conference, to be held in Orlando, Florida from June 27 to 30, 2022.
CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig said that being technologically astute in today’s rapidly changing and challenging business environment is central to a robust tourism rebound in the Caribbean. “We must be au courant in leveraging technological tools in driving operational efficiency, executing strong marketing campaigns as well as delivering new customer experiences,” the CHTA president reiterated.
“We need to be much smarter when it comes to the application of technology across the region – from artificial intelligence to big data,” the Jamaican tourism leader opined, while expressing optimism concerning the potential impact this partnership could have on the region’s travel and tourism sector.
Vanessa Ledesma, acting CEO and Director General of CHTA, described HFTP as a hospitality industry authority in the areas of finance and technology. “This is such a great fit for CHTA,” she said, adding that more of the Caribbean can now be on the cutting-edge when it comes to implementing solutions to pressing challenges.
Like CHTA, HFTP leverages its experts, networks, research, certification programs, information resources and conferences and events to benefit its members. HFTP also owns the world’s only hospitality-specific search engine, PineappleSearch.com, which centralizes highly fragmented industry information into a single, free-to-use platform.
“The strength of HFTP relies greatly on the reach of its global network, collectively building a broad knowledge base by sharing expertise and resources,” said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe. “Partnering with CHTA and the Caribbean, a region well-known for its hospitality industry, is a significant step to connecting our shared efforts to support education and innovation.”
Ledesma envisions members of the two associations learning from one another and identifying new avenues for collaboration as the travel and tourism sector emerges from the ongoing pandemic.
Sanovnik Destang, CHTA’s 2nd Vice President and Chair of the Technology Task Force, said the Memorandum of Understanding between two organizations will bring many exciting benefits to members, including access to HITEC’s Entrepreneur 20x pitching competition.
“For the first time ever, Caribbean-based hospitality tech entrepreneurs will get to participate in this competition with the application fee waived. This is a great opportunity for our members and we look forward to more opportunities like this through our partnership with HFTP,” he said.
About the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is the Caribbean's leading association representing the interests of national hotel and tourism associations and the region's private sector. For 60 years, CHTA has been the backbone of the Caribbean hospitality industry. Working with some 1,000 hotel and allied members, and 33 National Hotel Associations, CHTA is shaping the Caribbean's future and helping members to grow their businesses. Whether helping to navigate critical issues in sales and marketing, sustainability, legislative issues, emerging technologies, climate change, data and intelligence or, looking for avenues and ideas to better market and manage businesses, CHTA is helping members on issues which matter most. For further information, visit www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.
About HFTP
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with offices in the EU and Middle East. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP uniquely understands the industry's pressing issues, and assists its stakeholders in finding solutions to their challenges more efficiently than any organization. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP produces international events throughout the year, including the world's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand: HITEC. In addition, it oversees the hospitality-specific Pineapplesearch.com® and the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org. For the latest news, visit the HFTP News page at news.hftp.org and the HFTP Connect blog at blog.hftp.org.
