Caribbean Hotel Industry Bullish for 2018

By Alexander Britell

SAN JUAN — After a mixed bag of results in 2017, the Caribbean hotel industry is bullish on its prospects for 2018, according to Frank Comito, CEO of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

Comito, who was giving a media briefing to kick off the CHTA’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was revealing the results of the association’s annual industry performance survey.

There was “high optimism for 2018,” Comito said, with hoteliers expecting growth and looking to make capital improvements in their product.

That was in large part to what was a very strong holiday season.

“Anecdotally, we’re hearing incredibly strong reports on hotel industry performance and there’s every reason to believe that will continue through Easter,” Comito said, although cautioning on the prospects for the spring and summer season.

According to the survey, 54 percent of hoteliers were “positive” for 2018, and four percent “extremely positive.”

“We’ve not seen this level of optimism since we began the survey,” Comito said, noting that included the time before the recession. “It’s a trend that’s exciting for us.”