A new Caribbean hotel investment conference with a slightly different twist will debut Nov. 9-11 at the Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas. HVS Global Hospitality Services is title sponsor and producer of the inaugural HVS Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operations Summit.

Parris Jordan, managing director of HVS Global Hospitality Services and CHICOS chairman.

“We hope to bring together investors, developers and owners from around the globe with an interest in the region,” says Parris Jordan, the Bahamas-based managing director of HVS Global Hospitality Services and CHICOS chairman. “Through our firm’s global network we should be able to bring investors from the U.S., Europe, China, South America and elsewhere.”

In addition to topics of finance and development, the conference will include content aimed at the operations side of the business. Topics will include cost control, technology, working with OTAs and penetrating new markets. “There are a lot of small hotels in the Caribbean region and not all of them are managed efficiently,” says Jordan. “The conference will give all operators the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge of experts in a variety of disciplines.”

The conference will be a mix of general sessions, guest speakers, panel discussions and networking breaks. The event opens on the morning of Nov. 10 with two general sessions featuring leaders in the Caribbean hospitality industry. Lodging Hospitality Editor Ed Watkins moderates the first session, which looks at the critical challenges facing the region’s tourism business, most significantly the ongoing issue of airlift. The other session will dig deep into innovative strategies to finance and develop resort properties. Other main-stage sessions will focus on how to attract alternative sources of capital, how to create successful integrated resorts and the outlook for capital markets from the perspectives of lenders and owners.

The Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas hosts the inaugural HVS Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operations Summit.

According to Jordan, the investment climate in the Caribbean is improving after several difficult years. While traditional investors, such as First Caribbean International Bank and Scotiabank, remain committed to the region, he says it’s heartening to see new capital flowing into the islands, particularly from the Chinese, who have been involved in large-scale tourism projects in The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere.

“As it always is, the right project with good sponsors and sound fundamentals in place can usually get financing,” says Jordan. “It’s difficult today, but not impossible.”

Go to the conference website for more information and to register for the event.