The OAS Continues to Support Cooperation among Small Hotels
Hotel
owners and representatives of national associations of small hotels
from Central America, South America and the Caribbean convened at
the Third Inter-American Gathering of Owners and Operators of Small
Hotels on October 28 and 29 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The meeting,
co-sponsored by the OAS, facilitated the coordination of efforts and
continued strengthening integration and cooperation in this
important tourism sector.
An OAS study estimated that small and medium hotels account for
nearly 90 percent of lodging establishments in the region; between
60 and 70 percent of the supply of beds available and employ about
70 percent of the workforce in the hospitality industry. Yet, small
hotels face significant challenges in order to compete with the big
international chains. In this regard, peer collaboration has become
a fundamental tool for their sustainability, which in the region is
buttressed through the
Inter-American Network of Owners and Operators of Small Hotels
that traces its origins to OAS-supported initiatives.
The meeting allowed the exchange of experiences and knowledge on
issues of interest to the hotel industry, such as marketing,
multi-destinations, sustainability, and quality, among others. In
addition, it offered a space for the Board of the Inter-American
Network and representatives of national associations of small hotels
to reinforce their commitment to continue working together to
address common challenges.
In this regard, the President of the Inter-American Network, Nicole
Marrder emphasized in her opening remarks that the sector must
continue to work collaboratively to stay competitive in the market
and improve the digital marketing of its tourism services. On the
one hand, she highlighted challenges related to human resources, in
terms of professional training, language skills, and customer
service. Moreover, she stated that improving the promotion and
marketing of the small hotels industry in Latin America and the
Caribbean is "still a challenge." According to the head of the
Inter-American Network, the increased integration of technologies in
small hotels will improve the competitiveness and sustainability of
these companies, "technology is essential for communication (...)
and is a way in which we can effectively reach the rest of the
world."
Meanwhile, Denise Aleong Thomas, Vice President of the
Inter-American Network of Owners and Operators of Small Hotels and
representative of the small hotels of Trinidad and Tobago, noted the
importance of these meetings for the exchange of good practices and
to reach agreements among operators of small hotels that would lead
to joining forces to compete against the big chains. In this regard,
she said that the sector of small and medium hotels in the Caribbean
is being strengthened through new associations that are enabling
these businesses to undertake joint training programs on quality and
marketing.
The Third Inter-American Gathering of Owners and Operators of Small
Hotels was supported by the OAS, the Government of Honduras, the
Honduran Tourism Institute, the Museum of National Identity, the
Municipality of the Central District, the National Vocational
Training Institute (INFOP), HOPEH, CANATURH, Projoven and USAID
through its “Proparque” project.
Richard Campbell, Chief of the OAS Section of Culture and Tourism,
explained that "OAS Member States have recognized the value of
collaboration and the exchange of experiences, good practices and
innovative solutions in specific sectors. Certainly, the tourism
sector in general-- and small hotels in particular-- are groups that
have much to gain by joining forces. "
The OAS has supported the small and medium hotels sector since the
late 90s through its Small Tourism Enterprise Program (STEP), funded at the time by the
Special Multilateral Fund of the Inter-American Council for Integral
Development (FEMCIDI), and implemented first in the Caribbean and
then replicated in Central America and the Andean region of South
America. As a tangible result of this support, the Central American
Small Hotels Federation was created in 2007. Subsequently, at the
First Inter-American Gathering of Owners and Operators of Small
Hotels held in Costa Rica in 2013, participants agreed to establish
the Inter-American Network of
Owners and Operators of Small Hotels, and approved its statutes
in 2014 during the Second Gathering held in Ecuador, at which time
the first Board of the Network was also elected. The
Small Tourism Enterprise Network (STEN) project, funded by the
Government of Canada, supported the holding of these meetings of
Small Hotels. The fourth Gathering is scheduled to be held in the
Caribbean in 2016.
.
