A number of small hotels in Anguilla have benefited much from a one-week training workshop for staff members. The training, in Marketing Techniques for Small Hotels, was funded under the Caribbean Development Bank CTCS Programme – and delivered through the Anguilla Development Board and two local facilitators, Ms Shellecia Brooks-Johnson and Ms Sharon Richardson, both of the Anguilla Community College.
The participants in the training workshop and the small hotels they represented were as follows: Charlina Laville of Spyglass Villa/Little Butterfly; Erlene White, Spyglass Villa; Valencia Williams, Paradise Cove; Heather Gumbs, Carimar Beach Club; Kathryn Haskins, Shoal Bay Villas; Stephanie Johnson,Allamanda Beach Club; Shelda Lewis, CeBlue Villas and Beach Resort; Nicholas Romney, Villa Coyaba; Diane Rogers-Peters; DeAndre Richardson, Lloyds Guest House; Deon Vanterpool, Tackling Estate; and Patricia Harrigan, Ministry of Finance and Tourism.
Ms Heather Williams, Senior Projects Officer with the Caribbean Development Bank CTCS Programme, who is responsible for training, and who is also the Coordinating Officer at the Anguilla Development Board, spoke to The Anguillian about the workshop:
“Every year we look at what our stakeholders may want so we target different groups and the needs of the island at the time,” she explained. “We thought that since there was a slowdown, one of the good things would be marketing for the small hotels to help promote this sector and help the local enterprises. We put it forward to the Caribbean Development Board about a year ago. Earlier this year they had a Training of the Trainers’ Course in St Lucia. We sent two persons who were knowledgeable in the field to be trained to conduct the course locally.”
Mrs Shellecia Brooks, Assistant Registrar at the Anguilla Community College responsible for Marketing, Communications and Alumni Services, among other duties,explained what the training was all about. “We looked at marketing in a holistic way,” she stated. “We started out with what is marketing; then why is marketing important; segmentation targeting; niche markets; the different stages of a product life circle. We looked at our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; and we developed action plans. We looked at our different promotion strategies… Basically, we were looking at ways we can use all the marketing techniques that we learned during the week, and to apply it to our businesses moving forward in the short, medium and long term.”
The week-long training was held at the Soroptimist Conference Centre, where the closing ceremony took place on Thursday, November 7. Manager of the Anguilla Development Board, Mrs Althea Hodge, was delighted that all twelve participants had completed the course. She was also happy that the course involved the Caribbean Development Bank, the Caribbean Technology Consultancy Services Unit, the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association and the Anguilla Development Board. She hoped that the participants had benefitted significantly from the workshop.
“At ADB we would like to see similar workshops with particular emphasis within the tourism industry highlighting some of the key areas in which we can provide additional training,” Mrs Hodge added.
Ms Ann Gumbs, Chairperson of the Development Board, congratulated all the participants in the workshop. “Anguilla 44 is being rolled out in an effort to increase revenue,” she advised them. “The success of Anguilla 44 will depend on a strong marketing strategy. Your participation in Anguilla 44 will depend on using what you have learnt in this class. The success of this class is not determined by twelve people finishingthe training but, rather, returning to their businesses and putting what they have learnt into practice.”
