CHTA President Announces New Appointments for the 2014-2016 Term

Emil Lee, president of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), has enhanced his executive committee by adding three Caribbean tourism industry professionals who will serve as regional vice presidents during his presidency.  Lee has appointed Sanovnik Destang, executive director of Bay Gardens Resorts in St. Lucia, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, founder of Bedford Baker Group in the Bahamas, and Warren Binder, president Creative Travel Consultants in Florida.  

These three individuals will hold their posts for the 2014-16 biennium along with Lee, the new slate of officers that were elected in July 2014 and two other regional vice presidents Lee appointed in July 2014 - Clarisa Jimenez, president & CEO of the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association (PRHTA), and Jose Rivera Campos, vice president of development for AMResorts in Cancún.

"The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association is enhanced by the addition of Sanovnik Destang, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and Warren Binder as each gentleman brings an extensive knowledge of the operations of the Caribbean hotel industry to their position as regional vice president," said Lee.  "Their experience will prove vital to the future of the association as we strive to make it a more relevant Caribbean resource and visionary association," added Lee.

Sanovnik Destang, executive director of Bay Gardens Resorts in St. Lucia by profession, Destang has served since 2008 as the executive director of Bay Gardens Resorts, an award-winning locally owned hotel chain in Rodney Bay Village, St. Lucia. When Destang took over, the chain was facing declining occupancy, rate reductions and increasing operating costs which contributed to significant financial losses for the group.  

Under Destang's leadership, the group was able to return to profitability using a combination of innovative online marketing methods, combined with a focus on active yield management and product enhancements aimed at boosting average daily rates. He was able to cut operating costs by over EC$1.5 million per year while maintaining employment levels.

Under Destang's watch the property group has won several awards from TripAdvisor, Virgin Holidays and Wedding Wire and was rated as one of the top "100 Hotels in the World" by Fodors and Expedia.  In 2014, Bay Gardens Limited was named Business of the Year by the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce.  In March 2014, Destang was recognized with the "Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit (CHRIS) Rising Star Award."

Destnag also serves on the board of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) as the representative for boutique and high-end hotels.  He serves on the Board of Directors for CHTA and the St. Lucia Development Bank (SLDB), and is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

Vanderpool-Wallace's Bedford Baker Group is a collection of independent professional advisors who provide services in travel, tourism and hospitality.  Previously, his work in the Caribbean tourism industry includes minister of tourism of the Bahamas as well as the country's director general, secretary general and CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and co-president of Resorts International, which at the time was the largest private company in the Bahamas.  

His tenure with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism covered the best performing years for the destination under a number of barometers including total visitors, hotel visitors, cruise visitors, tourism revenues and visitor satisfaction levels.
Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, founder of Bedford Baker Group in the Bahamas

Vanderpool-Wallace is a much sought-after speaker and advisor to both private companies and governments in the tourism and hospitality arena. He has been the principal architect of policies to ensure robust public-private sector cooperation in all of his initiatives as a result of bringing a unique perspective to the growth and development of businesses and destinations that rely on hospitality for their profitability and their economies.

He has won a number of awards including being named at the 50th Anniversary of the CTO as one of the 50 most influential people in Caribbean tourism in the past 50 years.  He was also selected by Fast Company magazine as one of the Fast 50 global champions of innovation and has received Lifetime Achievement awards from the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association (HSMAI) and the Association of Travel Marketing Executives International (ATME).  

He was named as one of the most extraordinary minds in hospitality and travel by HSMAI.  In 2009, he was included in Her Majesty the Queen's Birthday Honours List and awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his contributions to the development of tourism.  In 2010 at the World Tourism Organization's Summit at World Travel Market in London, he was one of six ministers of tourism from around the world selected to give advice on the best way forward out of the Great Recession.

Binder formed Creative Travel Consultants in 1970 and his experience includes over 40 years of active involvement in the tourism industry including senior sales, marketing and management positions in both large and small organizations operating in the Caribbean, Bahamas, United States and other international markets.

He has been contracted by the private and public sectors to assist in the evaluation, development, implementation and managing of resort development, sales, marketing, reservations and communications programs for hotels, resort properties, destinations, airlines and tour operators.

Throughout his career, Warren has played a key role in the Caribbean tourism industry.  He has been actively involved with CHTA over the past 25 years and presently serves as an allied director, member of the Executive and Marketing Committees and chairman of the Caribbean Travel Marketplace Committee.  Previously, he was chairman of the CHTA Marketing Committee.  CHTA honored Binder as Allied Member of the Year in 1999.

He is actively involved in the CTO on the CHTA/CTO Joint Marketing Committee.  Binder served as the business development and marketing consultant to the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC), the combined marketing unit of CTO and CHTA, owned equally by each organization.  In this role he worked in conjunction with the leaders of both CTO and CHTA in the creation and launch of CTDC.  Currently, he serves as a director for CTDC.

Binder was intimately involved in the design, development, and implementation of the sales and marketing program, including budgeting, staffing and supervision of the Comfort Suites Paradise Island, a successful and profitable small Caribbean hotel.