Ex-Air Jamaica VP Moves into Hotel Sector

CASTRIES, St. Lucia — St. Lucians from all walks of life from the Prime Minister to managers and workers in the tourism industry have welcomed Allen Chastanet’s return to his native land and believe his entry into the hotel sector as an owner and operator will do great things for the country’s number one industry.

The former Air Jamaica Vice President of Sales and Marketing landed in Castries last month and within six weeks opened the 20-room Coco Kréole boutique property in Rodney Bay, dubbed by the nation’s leader, Dr. Kenny Anthony, as “Allen’s statement for the industry”.

Speaking on national television this week, Chastanet, who is the island’s former director of tourism, said that while working with Air Jamaica for eight years, it has always been his dream to ‘come home’. In fact, he had been planning to leave the airline industry in 2001, but the terrible attacks on America and its subsequent impact on travel and tourism delayed his decision.

Now that he has returned, Chastanet is upbeat, not only about his property, but by the decision of Rodney Bay restaurateurs and hoteliers to brand the area as ‘Rodney Bay Village’ and expose its varied attractions to international audiences through media and travel and tourism partners. In fact, the ‘village’ will host about 100 North American travel agents this weekend.

Rodney Bay features hotels of different sizes and experiences and numerous dining options, from classy Chinese, Indian and Creole cuisine to Domino’s Pizza and KFC fried chicken.

Coco Kréole, a three star property, provides a homely Caribbean experience with all of the modern conveniences for the leisure and business traveler.

Rooms feature air conditioning, ceiling fans, radio alarm CD players, television and VCR (a video library is available on property) and wireless, high-speed internet access. Each room displays the work of Caribbean artists and artwork is on sale to guests. Room rates begin at US$75 for a courtside view, including continental breakfast.

Chastanet’s travel experience has influenced a decision to abandon the reception desk at Coco Kréole and “hosts” whisk new arrivals to their rooms within seconds. “After completing your bio while clearing immigration,” Chastanet cynically quipped, “the last thing you need is to complete yet another form while waiting to be checked in”. Both check-in and check-out will be done in the air-conditioned comfort and privacy of the guest room.

After leading the expansion of Air Jamaica during the past eight years, Chastanet’s re-entry into the hotel industry resurrects his previous extensive hotel experience as a former St. Lucia tourism director and a past Director of Sales and Marketing for Island Outpost and its 11 hotels in Miami’s South Beach, Jamaica and the Caribbean.
He already has plans to break ground on 90 additional rooms this winter on land next to Coco Kréole, and later to add a further 90 rooms, spa, a convention facility, shopping mall and movie theatre. “The master plan has been completed and I am very much looking forward to this new chapter in my life.”

Former CNN Anchor to Land in Barbados

WASHINGTON, DC — Award-winning broadcast journalist, Andria Hall, who has more than 20 years experience in television, will lead a distinguished group of speakers to address the fifth Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx V) at Almond Beach Resort in Barbados, December 4-8, 2003.

Counterpart International, which produces the biannual parley, announced that Hall, a weekend anchor with CNN/USA from 1999 to 2001, will address Caribbean and international journalists and tourism industry officials under the theme “Tourism and the Media: The Next Generation”.

Also confirmed to attend this fall’s event are chairman of the Barbados Tourism Authority, Hudson Husbands; Bahamas tourism director, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace; St. Lucia’s Minister of Tourism Phillip J. Pierre; Dwyer Astaphan, Minister of Tourism, St. Kitts and Nevis; Berthia Parle, president-elect of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA); CHA’s Director, General Alec Sanguinetti; Royston Hopkin, chairman of the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism; and Clayton Sizemore, CNN New York’s Director of Operations.

Before joining CNN, Andria Hall was a weekend anchor with New York’s NBC affiliate and a national news correspondent with FOX. Currently, Andria is the president of SpeakEasy M.E.D.I.A., Inc., a media and public presentation consulting firm specializing in media coaching and broadcast quality productions. She also is the host of a Faith and Values Media Sunday morning program called America at Worship, which reaches nearly 50 million homes each week on the Hallmark Channel.

Andria is quickly becoming known as a “faith and work” expert, showing that the two need not be separated but rather, when faith is lived out in one’s everyday vocation, true success is achieved.

Joining Andria for the talks will be Dale Enoch, President of the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago; cruise industry analyst and author Ross “Cruise Junkie” Klein; Allen Chastanet, managing director of Coco Kreole; Charles Spence, Air Jamaica’s Regional Director of Marketing and Sales for the Caribbean; Claire Robinson, Air Jamaica’s Special Markets Manager in the Northeast USA; Patrick Cozier, Secretary General of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union; and Miles Stoby, Special Advisor to the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Julian Hunte.

Counterpart International President, Lelei LeLaulu is upbeat about bringing the conference to Barbados: “Barbados has been a loyal supporter of our talks since we began two years ago and, as such, is deserving of top quality discussions on how we can develop tourism communications strategies to safeguard both the natural environment and the quality of life of the region’s people,” he said.