The third annual Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operations Summit (Chicos) will feature a dynamic group of industry officials from investment companies, real estate groups, developers, bankers, tourism officials and hoteliers as panelists and speakers for this important Caribbean event.
Chicos will be held Nov. 7 - 8 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. As part of a Hotel Market Trends opening panel, Stephen Rushmore, Jr, president and CEO -HVS, will speak about Global Trends, Carter Wilson, director - STR Analytics, will give an update about Global & Regional Hotel Performance, Parris Jordan, managing director - HVS Caribbean, will provide an Overview of Caribbean Lodging Market and Adam Sacks, president -Tourism Economics, will give an Overview of Global and Regional Economy.
Up In The Air: The Question Of Airlift In The Caribbean is a general session that will focus on the seemingly age-old issue of providing responsive airlift that gets travelers to the Caribbean in a hassle-free manner and at a price they can afford to pay.
The session will be moderated by Greg Bohan, professor - Florida International University, and will feature panelists Chad Meyerson, global director, international marketing & sales - JetBlue; Alberto Smith, director of operations - Punta Cana International Airport; Jim Hepple, president and chief executive officer - Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association; Manuel Fernandez, president and CEO - Aerolineas MAS; and Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, principal - Bedford Baker Group.
General session Hospitality Leaders - Outlook will feature a panel of investors, owners and operators discussing the major issues impacting the industry in the region today.
The moderator is David Larone, director - PKF Consulting, and panelists are David Brillembourg, chairman and chief executive officer - Brilla Group; Frank Elias Rainieri, vice president of Business Development & Real Estate - Grupo PUNTACANA; John Keith, managing partner - Caribe Hospitality; and Kenny Blatt, principal and chief operating officer - Caribbean Property Group.
General session The Caribbean As An Asset Class - View From The Capital Providers will be moderated by Adam Rosenberg, managing director, global head of gaming - Goldman Sachs & Co., and will cater to investors and managers who are either considering or are already targeting the Caribbean within their overall portfolios, with a focus on the region's casino and leisure offerings.
Panelists include Mark Schwartz, vice president - Och Ziff Real Estate; Pierre Charalambides, founding partner - Dolphin Capital Partners; and William Sipple, executive managing director - HVS Capital Corp.
Chicos is staged by HVS, the leading global hospitality consulting firm, in conjunction with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), representing over 600 Caribbean hotels, and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), representing over 30 Caribbean governments.