Richard Williams
Chief Executive Officer, Richard Williams & Associates representing Belle Mont Farm at Kittitian Hill
Richard Williams was born in Barbados to a Canadian mother and Barbadian father and after secondary education in Canada, he returned to the island to join the tourism industry.
He has been prominent in Caribbean tourism for many years with an outstanding track record both in the region and North America.
After his appointment to Sandy Lane Hotel in 1989 his style of leadership drove a turnaround in the fortunes of that resort culminating in a buyout of the property by a private Irish consortium. In his subsequent role as Chief Executive, he led the redevelopment team and executed the US$500 million planning and design, reopening the resort in 2001. As a result of the new vision, Sandy Lane re-established itself as the pre-eminent, independent resort hotel in the resort world.
Key highlights of his professional career include:
- Managing Director, Cobblers Cove Hotel, Barbados www.cobblerscove.com
- Director, Caribbean region for Kuoni Hotel Management, Swiss Hotels http://www.kuoni.com/
- Chief Executive Officer of Sandy Lane, Barbados www.sandylane.com
- Vice President, Barbados Tourism, New York www.VisitBarbados.org
Richard Williams is a past President of the Barbados Hotel Association and has been a central figure in Caribbean tourism marketing for many years. He was chosen by the Caribbean Hotel Association as the first Barbadian honoured as Caribbean Hotelier of the Year. During his tenure as Chairman of the CHA Marketing Committee from 1982 to 1989, industry changing events such as the annual Caribbean Marketplace, the Caribbean Gold Book and CHARMS (Caribbean Hotels Reservations Service) were all conceived and born.
As national recognition for his contribution to the development of the Caribbean tourism industry, the Barbados Government awarded Williams the Silver Crown of Merit.
After leaving Sandy Lane, Williams co-founded Tourism Global Inc, a boutique tourism consultancy firm with specialised, high end services targeting the global investment market and the hospitality industry. He successfully led the tourism team bid for Barbados to host the finals of the Cricket World Cup in 2007.
In January, 2007, building on his interest in destination management and marketing, he joined the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) as Vice-President for the Americas where for the next several years he repositioned the destination for growth with enhanced travel-trade relationships while successfully orchestrating an additional 70,000 air seats per annum from the north-east US market. In recognition of his work in the marketplace, Williams received the distinction of being awarded “One of the Top 25 Marketing Minds” by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) based in New York.
In 2009, he established Richard Williams & Associates with a focus upon the hospitality, travel and tourism sectors, (www.RichardWilliamsAssociates.com) the firm provides a menu of customised hospitality services to clients around the world and its culture of one to one personalisation builds on an array of modern solutions for the challenges facing the independent hotel operator and developer today.
Richard Williams & Associates Inc together with its sister company West Indian Hospitality Ltd are based in the Caribbean with various supporting locations around the world.
