Louis Grant wins JHTA Lifetime Achievement Award
THE LUXURIOUS Tower Isle Hotel was definitely the place to be in the 1950s when the tourism industry was gaining momentum.
The man honoured recently for a lifetime of achievement in the tourism industry, Louis Grant, had a ringside view of the rich and famous who frequented the property, where he was starting his tourism career as a bar cashier.
Since then, while most of his working years were spent in hotel management, he was also engaged in various other aspects of tourism and travel, including destination marketing, sales, and transport.
For many years, he worked with the Jamaica Tourist Board in its Chicago office before returning to hotel management in Jamaica. Eventually, he joined the Sandals team and became an accomplished and valuable member of the family as his many awards over the years attest.
Grant’s first position was general manager of Sandals Montego Bay. Then, he opened Sandals Dunn’s River Golf Resort and Spa in 1991 as its first general manager. Next came a transfer to St Lucia to open the Sandals chain there in 1993, followed by a return to Sandals Dunn’s River the following year as general manager.
Wherever he has worked, he has demonstrated talent and temperament for innovative hotel management, excelling in operations management, food and beverage management, and marketing. On the people side, he has shone brightly in the training and motivation of staff.
With such credentials and more in evidence, in 2007, he was named JHTA Hotelier of the Year.
In 2018, Grant shares the spotlight as the JHTA Lifetime Achievement awardee.