| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 03/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 47 |
| Copyright: Other |
Hilton becomes suite on the Caribbean
The Hilton Hotel group is pursuing an aggressive acquisition trail in the Caribbean to fulfil its ambition to become the leading four-star hotel chain in the area.Hilton Caribbean director of sales Stuart Freeman said: “We are investing millions of dollars in the Caribbean because we strongly believe in its immense potential.
“The reason we are targeting the Caribbean is because of the long booking season. You need a minimum number of booking days to make the exercise profitable and the Caribbean provides a significant number of good days. There are only about 60 days in the year, during September and October, which are really low season.”
The group currently has seven hotels in the Caribbean but is aiming to extend its portfolio to 20 properties within the next three to four years. The existing hotels include Caribe Hilton and Ponce Hilton, Puerto Rico; British Colonial Hilton, Nassau, Bahamas; Jalousie Hilton, St Lucia and Hilton Kingston, Jamaica.
The first of the new properties to be opened will be the Hilton Tobago which is scheduled to open on July 8. The next will be in Barbados next year. “We are considering any of the other major islands which are significant to tourism, such as Antigua, Aruba, Grenada, the Dominican Republic and the Cancun area,” said Freeman.
“We are negotiating in all these areas to find the right financial mix for us to develop a hotel.
“We have tens of millions of pounds to spend on expanding our portfolio and are looking to double the number of properties we have.”
The new beachfront Hilton Tobago which is opening next week is located in a plantation setting on 20 acres 10mins from Crown Point International Airport and has 200 deluxe ocean-view rooms, including 22 one or two-bedroom suites with Jacuzzis.
The hotel has two restaurants, three bar lounges, a fun pub named after Robinson Crusoe and a freshwater swimming pool with a swim-up bar.
An 18-hole official championship golf course is currently being built and tennis and water sports are on offer. Lead-in prices are £126 per night (plus 21.5% tax) for a double room.
Hilton Trinidad: part of growth plans