Mr. Lionel Reid

Lionel Reid has been involved in the Hotel Industry in Jamaica for over forty years. He entered the industry as a Night Auditor at what was then the Tower Isle Hotel (now Couples Ocho Rios) and quickly rose to the position of Chief Accountant which position he held for approximately four (4) years. He then relocated to Montego Bay where he served as Financial Controller and a senior member of the Management Team to the Montego Beach and Chatham Hotel (now Sea Garden) for a number of years.

He then decided to invest in the industry by leasing and operating several Hotels ranging in size from 20 rooms to 240 rooms. Among them was the Heritage Beach Hotel (now Sunset Beach Hotel) and the Inn on the Beach on a lease for about 20 years, he teamed up with NCB Investments Ltd., a subsidiary of The NCB Group one of Jamaica's largest Financial Institutions to purchase the property. The Hotel was expanded from 45 to 100 guest rooms with full services and was operated on the All-Inclusive concept until it was sold to the Urban Development Corp. at the end of year 2000. Concurrent with Inn on the Beach/Club Jamaica, Mr. Reid also leased and operated Eaton Hall Hotel for 20 years and for shorter periods of time managed Sandcastles and Sky Castles.

For many years Mr. Reid served as a Director of the Caribbean Hotel Association as well as a Director of the Jamaica Tourist Board. During the early 1980's he was appointed Chairman of National Hotel & Properties Ltd a Government Company in which ownership of 16 Hotels was vested. Those Hotels included Wyndham Rose Hall, Hedonism 11 (then Negril Beach Village), Americana & Sheraton now Jamaica Grande, New Kingston Hotel now Hylton Kingston, Royal Caribbean now Sandals Royal, Trelawny Beach Hotel, now Starfish and several others. He also served as a Director of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. While serving as Chairman of NHP he was actively involved in divesting the operating of the Hotels thru leases. This was the first phase of the divestment programme. Second phase was the divestment of the ownership of the Hotels. Concurrent with his Chairmanship of NHP, Mr. Reid also served as Chairman of Jamaica Vacations Ltd (JAMVAC). This is a Government Company whose primary function was to organize charters to bring visitors to Jamaica. This organization was the catalyst for the recovery of Jamaica's Tourist Industry in the early 1980's.

Mr. Reid has been a member of the Council of the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association for over 25 years and was elected President for four consecutive terms. He was honoured by his peers by being awarded Hotelier of the Year in 1996 and later appointed Council Emeritus which is Honourary Membership of the Council for life. He is the fourth Hotelier to be honoured in the 40 years of the existence of the Association. His Community activities include serving as Director of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce. He was President of the Chamber for 3 terms.

Subsequent to the sale of Club Jamaica he accepted a position to serve as Managing Director of Cayman Resort Hotels a Company which owns and operates two Hotels in Grand Cayman as well as Resort Sports one of the largest providers of tours and Water sports activities in the Caribbean. After approximately 1 1/2 years he was recalled to Jamaica to take over and be responsible for the refurbishing of the prestigious 94 bedroom Shaw Park Beach Hotel  & Spa. The Hotel is owned by Cutlass Bay Development Company Ltd and managed by CB Management Ltd. Presently Mr. Reid serves as Managing Director of both Companies.

Mr. Reid is married and has two grown children. One son who works in the Hotel Industry in Jamaica and one daughter who lives in Washington D.C.