In January 2004, the membership value of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) is enhanced through a new agreement with online travel auction marketplace, Skyauction.com
. Through the new partnership, CHA members may exchange room nights as fulfillment for their membership fees in CHA. The new membership program offers marketing support to a participating Caribbean hotel, through added visibility online at no additional cost.

“This is particularly beneficial to the smaller independent Caribbean properties, which find it increasingly difficult to compete in the current climate of international travel,” said CHA President Simón Suárez. “Membership in CHA already provided them with the tools to improve their hotel product. The partnership with Skyauction.com enhances the value of their membership with an additional tool for marketing through the internet.”

For a hotel interested in this program, Skyauction.com researches the auction value of the hotel’s rooms, using such tools as the hotel’s website, Expedia, Travelocity, and Skyauction.com’s own experience of five years in the industry, to determine the number of room-nights that would be needed to fulfill the hotel’s membership dues with CHA. The hotel would then sign a Skyauction.com agreement for the required number of nights.

“We are excited to be working with CHA and their member hotels”, said Michael N. Hering, President and CEO of SkyAuction.com. “We hope to help the organization and its members to expand their marketing reach by working diligently to create a successful way to give any hotel who wants to participate in CHA programs the ability to do so”.
——-