The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has signed a three-year agreement with the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) association to expand the delivery of resources for members of both organizations.

The Memorandum of Understanding allows members to access finance and technology-related education on topics such as upscaling workforce automation and staffing, cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cybersecurity. These master classes are being developed by CHTA, while experts are to be supplied by HFTP. CHTA members also will benefit from complimentary exhibits registration for HITEC North America, the world's largest hospitality technology conference, to be held in Orlando, Florida from June 27 to 30, 2022.

CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig said that being technologically astute in today’s rapidly changing and challenging business environment is central to a robust tourism rebound in the Caribbean. “We must be au courant in leveraging technological tools in driving operational efficiency, executing strong marketing campaigns as well as delivering new customer experiences,” the CHTA president reiterated.

“We need to be much smarter when it comes to the application of technology across the region – from artificial intelligence to big data,” the Jamaican tourism leader opined, while expressing optimism concerning the potential impact this partnership could have on the region’s travel and tourism sector.

Vanessa Ledesma, acting CEO and Director General of CHTA, described HFTP as a hospitality industry authority in the areas of finance and technology. “This is such a great fit for CHTA,” she said, adding that more of the Caribbean can now be on the cutting-edge when it comes to implementing solutions to pressing challenges.

Like CHTA, HFTP leverages its experts, networks, research, certification programs, information resources and conferences and events to benefit its members. HFTP also owns the world’s only hospitality-specific search engine, PineappleSearch.com, which centralizes highly fragmented industry information into a single, free-to-use platform.

“The strength of HFTP relies greatly on the reach of its global network, collectively building a broad knowledge base by sharing expertise and resources,” said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe. “Partnering with CHTA and the Caribbean, a region well-known for its hospitality industry, is a significant step to connecting our shared efforts to support education and innovation.”

Ledesma envisions members of the two associations learning from one another and identifying new avenues for collaboration as the travel and tourism sector emerges from the ongoing pandemic.

Sanovnik Destang, CHTA’s 2nd Vice President and Chair of the Technology Task Force, said the Memorandum of Understanding between two organizations will bring many exciting benefits to members, including access to HITEC’s Entrepreneur 20x pitching competition.

“For the first time ever, Caribbean-based hospitality tech entrepreneurs will get to participate in this competition with the application fee waived. This is a great opportunity for our members and we look forward to more opportunities like this through our partnership with HFTP,” he said.