Kevin Hendrickson, managing director of Courtleigh Hospitality Group, has been named Caribbean Hotelier of the Year.

The announcement was made yesterday during the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) awards luncheon at the Caribe Hilton in Puerto Rico. He joins a long list of Jamaican hoteliers to have won the award.

They include Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, John Issa, Heinz Simonitsch, Josef Forstmayr and Jag Mehta. After graduating university with a bachelors’ degree in Business Administration, Hendrickson served as general manager for Courtleigh Manor hotel on Trafalgar Road.

The hotel was bought as an investment property in 1981 by National Continental Corporation, under the chairmanship of Hendrickson’s father. In 1996, Hendrickson bought the Marcus Garvey building, located between the Pegasus and former Wyndham hotels.

With a USAID development loan, he converted it 11 months later into a new home for The Courtleigh Hotel & Suites. Hendrickson is currently leading a massive multibillion-dollar redevelopment and integration of three of his hotel holdings on Knutsford Boulevard in the New Kingston business district.

The Caribbean Hotelier of the Year Award, which is the highest honour bestowed by the CHTA, recognises excellence in Caribbean hotel operations by demonstrating superior achievement in: resort operations, food & beverage, marketing and sales, resort maintenance, staff training and motivation, innovative management, environmental practices, community affairs, and involvement with national and regional (CHTA) lodging industry associations. 

READ: PNP’s Allen hails Hendrickson for being named region’s ‘hotelier of the year’