Richard Williams has held a prominent position in the Caribbean hospitality industry for many years and has an outstanding track record throughout the islands of the Eastern Caribbean.
After his appointment to Sandy Lane Hotel in 1989 with Trust House Forte, his style of leadership drove a turnaround in the fortunes of that resort. He later brokered a buyout of the property by a private European consortium. In his subsequent role as Chief Executive, Richard led the redevelopment team and executed the US$500 million planning and design with the reopening of the resort in 2001. As a result of his new vision, Sandy Lane re-established itself as a pre-eminent, independent resort hotel in the tropical world.
Richard co-founded Tourism Global Inc. after leaving Sandy Lane in 2001. The boutique, tourism consultancy firm specialized in high-end services for the global investment market and the hospitality industry. In the spring of 2004, he successfully led the tourism component of the bid for Barbados to host the finals of the Cricket World Cup in 2007.
In 2007 Richard joined the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) as Vice President for the Americas. In two and a half years he repositioned the destination for growth with enhanced trade relationships and orchestrated an additional 70,000 air seats per annum from the northeast US market. For his efforts in his first 12 months in office, Richard received the distinction of being awarded "One of the Top 25 Marketing Minds" by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI).
Richard has also served as Managing Director of Cobblers Cove Hotel in Barbados and as Managing Director of Kuoni Management — Swiss Hotels in the Caribbean. He was recognized for his contributions to the development of the Caribbean tourism industry with the Silver Crown of Merit, presented as a national award by the Barbados government in 1992.
Past President of the Barbados Hotel Association, Richard was the first Barbadian honoured as Caribbean Hotelier of the Year by the Caribbean Hotel Association. During his seven-year tenure as Chairman of the CHA Marketing Committee, industry-changing events such as the annual Caribbean Marketplace, the Caribbean Gold Book and CHARMS (Caribbean Hotels Reservations Service) were all conceived and born.
Richard Williams & Associates now allows Richard to pursue a list of new interests and to build on his past experience with hospitality operations, as well as sales, marketing and public relations. |
