Sandals Barbados Makes Big Impact

The addition of Sandals Barbados to the local hotel sector contributed significantly to this country recording its highest ever tourism arrival figures last year.

Senior tourism consultant in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport Hugh Foster made that disclosure during his feature address at Sandals’ monthly Prestige Awards ceremony recently.

Foster, a veteran in the industry with over three decades of experience, said that in 2016, Barbados continued to smash arrival records.

“An estimated 630,000 long stay visitors enjoyed themselves in Barbados in 2016; the 2015 arrival numbers were also a record. We are on a streak and with your (Sandals) help we intend to make it a long winning streak,” he said.

Foster said he believed Barbados should be on a quest to achieve one million long-stay arrivals and one million cruise ship passenger arrivals per annum, and that with the presence of Sandals this could be achieved.

“The Government created the climate for investment and I can assure you that it is pleased with the wonderful investment your employers have made in Barbados,” he said.

“As you know, further expansion is ongoing, for which we are also grateful. We welcome Sandals’ mega commitment to our hotel plant. Everyone is looking forward to the Beaches brand in the north,” added Foster.

Giving his full support to the awards programme, the tourism official encouraged other hotels to follow suit in honouring their hard working staff. “Good service is non-negotiable in the tourism sector. Anything less than best service practices for your guests in not an option. As frontline workers in the hospitality sector, being genuine in the delivery of those core values is priceless.

“Being genuine, being authentic, is the mirror that reflects the best of Bajan values and indeed the best of Bajan culture. These qualities, I am sure, are displayed by all of you in this room especially to the guests at Sandals,” Foster said.

Sandals’ general manager Fernand Zievinger congratulated the 15 awardees for their hard work.

“I am extremely proud of all our staff and notably the winners here today. It is because of their dedication and belief in our company standards that we maintain such a high level of service,” he said.

The Sandals Prestige Awards programme is the company’s way of acknowledging outstanding team members monthly, in various aspects of the operations, in categories such as the Circle of Joy, Legendary Talent of the Month and Diamond Talent of the Month.

JAMAICA: Adam Stewart Lauded For Winning 'Caribbean Hotelier Of The Year’

(From left) Frank Comito, CEO and Director General of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA); Kerry Cannon, Managing Director, MMGY Global; Richard J. Doumeng, CHTA Chairman and past President; Adam Stewart, CEO of Sandals Resorts International and 2015 Caribbean Hotelier of the Year; Emil Lee, President of CHTA; Karolin Troubetzkoy, First Vice President and President of CHTA; and Sir Royston O Hopkin, KCMG, past CHTA President.

ADAM Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Sandals Resorts International, has won the award of Caribbean Hotelier of the Year, in a function at the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF), which took place on the weekend at El Conquistador Resort, a Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller congratulated Stewart on his award, and said it is recognition of his extraordinary leadership and his continued transformation of the Sandals brand.

“I join in congratulating Adam Stewart for his vision, bold yet caring leadership, and his preoccupation with excellence in service.He continues to be a transformational leader in the Jamaican and Caribbean business community,” Simpson Miller said.

The prime minister noted the major expansion of Sandals Resorts under his leadership, including a recent additional investment of some US$150 million in expansion and improvements to the resort chain’s operations in Jamaica.

“Adam Stewart is deserving of this prestigious award, which is an admirable tribute to his pre-eminent standing in the regional and international hotel trade.All Jamaica is proud of his achievement,” the Prime Minister said.

Opposition Leader Andrew Holness also lauded Stewart yesterday on achieving the award. Holness said copping such a prestigious award is testament to the fact that “Adam Stewart is not only an astute businessman, but is a major force in the tourism industry, not only here in Jamaica, but across the region”.

He said the Sandals brand has grown from strength to strength over the years and is poised to reach even higher heights.

Recognising Stewart's work in the hotel industry is not only great encouragement, Holness said, but is “a fitting reward for his hard work and tremendous dedication to the development of Jamaica's tourism product”.

Stewart is the 35th recipient of this prestigious award, which is sponsored by MMGY Global, and is the highest professional honour bestowed in hotel and resort operations in the Caribbean.

The award recognises excellence in all areas of operations, as well as a commitment to the training and development of staff, contributions to the community and a demonstrated commitment to sound environmental practices.

The award also acknowledges each recipient's active role in both national and regional issues affecting Caribbean tourism. Stewart is at the helm of the world-leading resort company, Sandals Resorts International and The ATL Group in Jamaica.

He is also President of the Sandals Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that supports the Caribbean community through investment in sustainable projects in education, community and environment to help improve people's lives and preserve the region's natural surroundings.

He was born in the same year that his father, Gordon 'Butch' Stewart —who received the Hotelier of the Year in 1992 — purchased his first hotel and launched the Sandals Resorts chain.

Adam Stewart was raised in Jamaica and graduated from Florida International University's acclaimed Hospitality Management Program in Miami, Florida, before undertaking a fasttrack immersion through the Caribbean empire which today comprises 20 resort properties across three brands and seven islands.

In the nine years of Adam Stewart's stewardship, Sandals has experienced a period of unprecedented growth, innovation and development transforming the all-inclusive concept to Luxury Included® resorts which offer guests levels of exclusivity never seen before.

With Stewart as the pioneer, the company has introduced "game-changing" developments such as the addition of the Italian and Key West Villages at the company's flagship Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa, the launch of Sandals Emerald Bay in the Bahamas, a 245-room resort with a 150-slip marina and Greg Norman golf course, and the company's first resorts in Grenada and Barbados, the hugely anticipated Sandals LaSource Grenada and, most recently, Sandals Barbados.

Stewart continued the company's expansion by launching Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts value brand in Jamaica and Antigua, as well as the introduction of boutique villa properties such as the 52-acre private island, Fowl Cay Resort, in the Bahamas. I

t is this pioneering spirit which has brought him numerous accolades including being named the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association's Hotelier of the Year for 2014, World Travel Award's Rising Star, recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Torch Award from FIU, Caribbean World's Travel and Tourism Personality of the Year and The Gleaner's Jamaica 50 Under 50 Award.