CHTA to Host Small Hotels Retreat, Taste of the Caribbean Concurrently, Sept. 9-12, in Puerto Rico

13 June 2010 9:08pm

This fall, the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), in conjunction with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association (PRHTA) and the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau (PRCB) will present two of its annual events concurrently. The Small Hotels Retreat will take place Sept. 9 - 11, 2010 while the Taste of the Caribbean culinary event and regional competition is set for Sept. 9 - 12, 2010 - both will be held at the Rio Mar Beach Resort, A Wyndham Grand Resort in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

The Small Hotels Retreat, “Serving the Needs of Small & Independent Hoteliers,” is primarily for small hotels consisting of 75 rooms or less however, it is open to all CHTA members. The conference program is designed by small hoteliers specifically for small and independent Caribbean hoteliers. During last year’s conference in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a total of 196 delegates participated, of which 88 were hoteliers and seven were hotel association executives. A total of 17 countries were represented at the Small Hotels Retreat in 2009.

CHTA is offering an early bird registration fee of $150 for hotelier delegates and $275 for non-hoteliers who pay by Aug. 2, 2010. Registration increases to $200 for hoteliers and $325 non-hoteliers after Aug. 2nd. Day passes are available to hoteliers for $125 per day for Sept. 10 and Sept 11.

Registration for the Small Hotels Retreat includes access to most of the Taste of the Caribbean events with the exception of the Individual Awards Breakfast and closing gala dinner. Sponsors for Small Hotels Retreat include Forum Telecom, Green Globe, Interval International, MasterCard, RCI and STR.

Taste of the Caribbean provides education through seminars, workshops, tastings and demonstrations, created to enhance performance, style and profitability in food and beverage operations. Caribbean culinary teams and individuals compete for the honor of Caribbean Team of the Year, Caribbean Chef of the Year, Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year and Caribbean Bartender of the Year.

This year’s Taste of the Competition will feature nine Caribbean teams comprised of chefs, pastry chefs, bartenders and junior chefs for a total of more than 80 competitors vying for the top Caribbean culinary honors.

This year, CHTA will offer a combined tradeshow for delegates attending the Small Hotels Retreat and Taste of the Caribbean. Exhibitors who specialize in serving the smaller hospitality arena have the opportunity to promote their products and services to decision-making hoteliers.

For delegates attending Taste of the Caribbean, the tradeshow provides a one-stop forum for gathering practical information, sampling, purchasing, strengthening established supplier relationships and meeting new vendors who are on-hand to help registrants build their food and beverage business as well as yield benefits for their bottom line.