Caribbean News
CHTA Announces CHIEF 2023 Awards, Recognizing Best Practices in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry
Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort owner and CEO Ewald Biemans (fourth from left) and his team with Bill Clegg, Vanessa Ledesma, Nicola Madden-Greig, and Kyle Mais, Chairman of the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) (right).
#Miami, Florida, December 15, 2023 – The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has announced the winners and finalists of the prestigious Caribbean Hotel Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) 2023 Awards. The winners were revealed at the annual CHIEF event, which took place from November 29 to December 1, 2023, in Miami, FL. These awards recognize the outstanding initiatives in the Caribbean hospitality industry.
The CHIEF Awards were established to recognize successful practices of CHTA member hotels and tourism-related enterprises across five key areas – Environmental Sustainability, Innovative Sales and Marketing, People (Staff) Development and Support, Social Responsibility, and Tech Transformation.
Sanovnik Destang, Executive Director of Bay Gardens Resorts (center) and his team with Vanessa Ledesma, Nicola Madden-Greig and Bill Clegg
The first-place CHIEF Award in the Environmental Sustainability category went to Grenada’s True Blue Bay Boutique Resort for its dedication to environmental sustainability, demonstrating leadership in eco-friendly practices within the hospitality sector. True Blue Bay Resort’s groundbreaking initiatives include a Biogas Digester project with KTH Royal Institute of Technology University, the expansion of rainwater collection systems, and a commitment to achieving zero plastic waste within two years.
Aruba’s Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, which earned hall-of-fame CHIEF Award recognition for environmental sustainability, tied for runner-up with St. Lucia’s Jade Mountain.
In the Innovative Sales and Marketing category, St. Lucia’s Bay Gardens Resorts took the top spot for its inventive approach to sales and marketing. Their success is measured by a 40% YTD increase in booking engine revenue, driven by innovative digital marketing tools, including Triptease pop-up messages and engaging social media strategies that garnered over 15% growth on TikTok. Last year’s top-placed Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort returned to the podium, copping second place this year.
From left: Bill Clegg; Vanessa Ledesma; Patrice Simon, Executive Director, Antigua & Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association; and Nicola Madden-Greig
Recognizing the crucial role of People Development and Support, the Antigua & Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association took top place. Its inspiring “Unveiling Hospitality Professionals” project, leading up to Tourism Week 2023, highlighted the stories of dedicated individuals in various sectors, fostering talent and supporting team members while reaching over 20,000 views per video. Jamaica’s Half Moon and Mount Cinnamon Resort & Beach Club in Grenada were the runners-up in the category.
The Social Responsibility category was claimed by The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, and its digital agency Tambourine. Their “Our Ocean, Our Future” initiative, in partnership with Hidden Worlds, raised $20,000 for marine sustainability and showcased the impact of immersive experiences on environmental awareness, achieving media coverage in 15 publications. Grace Bay Car Rentals in Turks & Caicos followed closely as this year’s runner-up.
Tambourine Sales Executive Jordan Iten (center) with Nicola Madden-Greig and Vanessa Ledesma
In the Tech Transformation category, GuestChat took the top spot with its customized chat capability, enhancing customer engagement. GuestChat’s innovative approach includes the incorporation of ChatGPT into the automatic messaging mix. This addition allows the system to utilize FAQs and internal documents, ensuring highly accurate answers that specifically adhere to the content in the documents, thus reducing the number of “hallucinations” and providing precise responses. Away Together, an app that allows for efficient and secure communication to enhance guest experiences in real-time, captured second place.
President of CHTA, Nicola Madden-Greig, extended appreciation to CHIEF sponsors whose support was instrumental in making the event possible and advancing the region’s hospitality industry. This year’s sponsors included ADA Cosmetics, BWH Hotels, Figment Design, Interval, Marketplace Excellence, Mastercard, Saint Lucia Hospitality & Tourism Association (SLHTA), STR and Travelzoo.
Pictured from left to right: Bill Clegg; Vanessa Ledesma; Nima Anvar, CEO, GuestChat; and Nicola Madden-Greig
“Celebrating excellence in hospitality and tourism, the CHIEF Awards illuminate the brightest stars in our industry. Their dedication to excellence not only elevates their own tourism entities but also inspires a new standard for the entire hospitality community. In honoring these champions, we recognize not just their achievements, but also the transformative power of innovation, sustainability, and commitment to people and community. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists,” remarked Bill Clegg, CHIEF Program Chair and Regional Director of Development, Mid-Atlantic U.S. and Caribbean Regions for BWH Hotels.
For more information about the 2023 CHIEF Awards and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, visit www.chtachief.com.
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. For more than 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.
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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