CTO, CHA Ink Data Deal with Smith Travel Research

The Caribbean Hotel Association and the Caribbean Tourism Organization have announced that Smith Travel Research will become their official partner in the collection and distribution of hotel performance data for the Caribbean.

The announcement was made and applauded by the participants at the 11th Annual Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference here for whom hotel performance data is critical to their investment decisions.

“Smith Travel Research has built a stellar reputation in this area over the past 20 years and is regarded as the best and most respected source of hotel performance information,” said Peter Odle, president of the CHA. “We are delighted to be able to form this alliance with them so that we may provide our member hotels with the data they need to improve business outlook.”

In the past, much of the data on hotel performance in the Caribbean was unavailable because of the concerns among hotel owners about confidentiality, both organizations said.

However, they stated that Smith’s reputation for reliability, objectivity and confidentiality means that not even the partner organization (CTO and CHA) will have access to any information provided to STR on the performance of any individual property.

The regional tourism bodies stated that CTO and CHA and others will only receive blended information that will indicate trends and allow better forecasting not only for the region but also for individual destinations.