Don't forget to RSVP for our upcoming Membership Mixer on Aug. 22 from 5-7 p.m. at St. John Brewers Tap Room! Transportation to St. John will be provided courtesy of the Westin St. John ferry out of Red Hook promptly at 4:30 p.m.
Click here to view the flyer. Please RSVP with
lisa@usvihta.com.
Lisa Hamilton
President, USVIHTA
26th Annual Destination Symposium
Thank you for joining us this week for the 26th Annual Destination Symposium! Your participation and support are crucial to the success of these events. We're delighted with the positive feedback we received, and look forward to continuing to work alongside our travel partners to promote the territory.
Click here to view photos from the 2019 Destination Symposium, and
here to view the schedule of events.
Reinvented Vacation Villas Now Open as The Hills, Saint John
A new mana
gement group has recently completed extensive renovations and upgrades to the former hurricane damaged Sirenusa property. The 22-villa destination has been elevated to new levels of sophisticated Caribbean charm and has been rebranded as The Hills, Saint John.
Read more.
Register to Sponsor the 2019 Paradise Jam for Valuable Exposure!
Paradise Jam is back with an incredible lineup of NCAA teams! We hope members will consider sponsoring this event during its milestone 20th anniversary. Each year, Paradise Jam brings valuable tourism dollars and national exposure to the USVI, and we don't want our members to miss out on an opportunity to be a part of this esteemed event! Click here to read more about sponsorship.
Elizabeth Hansen Watley Named Acting Director of New Division of Festivals
The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism has named Assistant Commissioner of Tourism Elizabeth Hansen Watley as the acting director of the new Division of Festivals. Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte announced that until a director is identified, Hansen Watley will be responsible for leading the charge to manage and promote the new division with her first order of business to launch plans for the upcoming Crucian Christmas Festival – Dec. 4, 2019 to Jan. 4, 2020. Read more.
CHTA Education Foundation Delivers Training Programs for the Region
CHTAEF has created and rolled out a new program which focuses on short courses to provide immediate benefit to the staff and the hotels in which they work. The new on-island training courses aim to further develop a variety of skills for full time working industry professionals without requiring long absences from their homes and hotels. These series of one-day training courses include disciplines including customer service, housekeeping and supervisor and manager training, to name a few. Read more.
Caribbean Region Outperforming its North American Neighbors
The hotel industry in the Caribbean region gave itself a nice head start for 2019 with record first-quarter performance. Hotels were able to increase occupancy by 1 percent over Q1 2018, but the real boost came from higher rates that saw an increase of 7 percent year-over-year. Read more.
IRS e-News for Small Business
Click hereto read the IRS e-News for Small Business Newsletter.
