ORANJESTAD, Aruba – Luigi Heredia, President of the Aruba Time Share Association (ATSA) has lauded the successful completion of the island-wide training initiative, delivered by the CHTA Education Foundation.
In his closing remarks at Wednesday’s celebration for the participants, Heredia told the gathering that “We want our members, guests, colleagues, owners, partners, investors, and communities to see that we’re on a journey to be successful in every sense of the word. I believe how we grow our properties and Aruba, and work to be a greater force for good, are linked. When looking at the training and speaking to the Education Foundation from the onset, we decided that we did not only want our ATSA members to be trained but to open to all Aruba hospitality professionals, where we invited the members of AHATA, Aruba Food & Beverage Association and Vacation Rental Professionals Aruba.”
Mr. Heredia shared that within two weeks of opening training registration, they had to increase the capacity from 240 to 336 seats, with their hospitality partners committing four months in advance.
Participants hailed from timeshare properties, resorts, small and large restaurants and bars, car rental companies, adventure and tour operators, and students. Also, several private individuals invested in themselves to attend the training.
Karolin Troubetzkoy, Chair of the Education Foundation added her congratulations to the Aruba cohort.
“We are incredibly proud of this island-wide initiative conceived and led by the Aruba Time Share Association. The Education Foundation is no stranger to Aruba, and it has been our pleasure to deliver 14 days of service-centric training. Thank you to the Aruba Tourism Authority for supporting the reach of this hospitality and training initiative and acknowledging the critical importance of supercharged, engaged, focused, and trained, service professionals, to the overall tourism product of Aruba. To each participant, remain energized and sparkle in your care of everyone. Thanks to AHATA for endorsing us.”
Trustee, Professor Mike Hampton, represented the Education Foundation at the closing event.
In his remarks he gave “Enormous kudos and thanks to Luigi Heredia, President, and the Executive Board Members of ATSA, who have personally poured their passion, time, and resources into action for many months to make the past three weeks a reality.”
Trainers Louise John and Suzanne Shillingford-Brooks facilitated sessions in Happy Housekeepers, Strengthened Supervisors, Food and Beverage – Light Up Tastebuds and Food and Beverage – Dinner Observation, Anticipation, Interaction, and Upselling.
“The broad spectrum of attendees has been amazing. They have been focused and the communication and sharing of ideas has been wonderful,” John said of the Aruba cohort.
Participants are expected to engage in classwork but are also given homework to immediately put into practice what they are learning.
“The work of the Education Foundation impacts the trainees and the properties in many ways, including hard currency,” explained Louise. “After the first Food & Beverage day, teams were challenged to go back to their properties and work on ways to increase either drink or dessert sales, managers reported seeing up to 25% uplift in sales of mimosas and desserts. Others have added new drink offers because of the input from their team members.”
The CHTA Education Foundation is a vibrant charity that focuses 100% on the strengthening of Caribbean industry professionals through academic and technical learning, practical application and experiential training, alongside personal professional development, and mentoring.
Learn more about the training opportunities and scholarships available at chtaef.com.
BACKGROUND
The Aruba Timeshare Association (ATSA) is the legal entity representing the special interests of timeshare within the island’s tourism sector.
ATSA was established in 1994, and currently counts the active membership of most timeshare properties in Aruba (as well as condominium co-op associations). The association works on a local level, as a supporting member of AHATA, the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association, and with other local organizations as well as Government entities. On a regional level, where Aruba continues to receive recognition as a model timeshare destination, ATSA has professional ties with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association and benefits from continuous collaboration with ARDA, the American Resort Development Association.
The CHTA Education Foundation is an independent regional charity established in 1986 with a mandate to improve and elevate the quality and professionalism of the hospitality and tourism industry in the Caribbean through education and training. The Education Foundation has supported various scholars in their pursuit of academic and technical qualifications and partnered to deliver various on-island training workshops where we enjoy engaging with diverse hospitality & tourism professionals in a lively manner.
Aruba Tourism Authority: As the Destination Marketing and Management Organization (DMMO) for Aruba, the A.T.A. is responsible for uniting tourism interests amongst the on- and off-island stakeholders/partners for the purpose of coordinating destination marketing, destination development and destination partnerships.
