OCHO RIOS, St Ann – With 50 years of excellent service to the tourism sector, Louis Grant, general manager of Sandals Dunn’s River Villaggio Golf Resort & Spa, was on Saturday presented with the Hotelier of the Year award by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

“Our winner was considered outstanding in operational management, food and beverage management, and marketing. The assessment was equally positive for supervision of property maintenance, training and motivation of staff, as well as for innovative and creative management,” a citation read in his honour said in part.

The annual awards ceremony, held at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort, was attended by dozens of Grant’s peers, representing a wide cross section of the tourism strata, who gave him a standing ovation in recognition of his outstanding achievements over the years.

Immediate past president of the JHTA, Horace Peterkin, presented Grant with a plaque.

Sandals Dunn’s River also picked up the powersave award for the best use of energy, for hotels with over 100 rooms.

Grant, who was honoured by the Government of Jamaica with the Order of Distinction (OD) award, has held various posts in various entities within the tourism sector, since he started 50 years ago.

He started as a bar cashier at the Tower Isle Hotel (now Couples Ocho Rios) in the 1950s, leaving 11 years later as a payroll bar inventory clerk.

Grant served Martin’s Tours as sales manager, managed a water sports company, and was executive assistant manager at the Jamaica Playboy Club hotel.

He also served the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) from its Chicago office for several years, returning to Jamaica to serve as general manager for two hotels on the north coast, on separate occasion, before joining the Sandals team.

He did a short stint at Sandals Montego Bay before opening Sandals Dunn’s River Golf Resort & Spa in 1991.

He was later transferred to St Lucia to open the Sandals chain there in 1993, before returning to Sandals Dunn’s River the following year to serve as general manager.

At Sandals Dunn’s River Grant has been credited with displaying exemplary management skills and is said to be known by his staff as “a man with a knack for motivating team members to excel at their various jobs, while maintaining unity, respect and discipline.”

Also on Saturday, Air Jamaica’s vice-president for marketing Paul Pennicook was given a special award; Ashford Kelly of Breezes Runaway Bay received the Hotel Employee of the Year Award, while the Abe Issa Award for Excellence went posthumously to film director Perry Henzel.

The Allied Service Members Awards went to Caribbean Producers Jamaica (purveyor), JUTA Negril chapter (local transportation), YS Falls (attraction), and the International Airline Award to Air Jamaica. Coyaba Beach Resort copped the Powersave Award for hotels under 100 rooms.

At the same time, special tribute was paid to former JHTA assistant general manager Thelma Williams, who resigned last year after 43 years with the association.