About Our Association
The Belize Hotel Association (BHA) is a non-profit, non-government organization and Belize’s oldest private sector tourism organization. Its membership is comprised primarily of accommodation providers including hotels, resorts, lodges, condominiums, educational facilities and home-stays with allied members including tour operators and ancillary businesses that service the hospitality industry.
The BHA works diligently to support the sustainable growth of member hotels and the tourism industry in Belize through global marketing initiatives, private and public sector partnerships and training opportunities aimed at increased standards and professional service.
Above all, the BHA is committed to ensuring that visitors Belize receive quality service at a fair price
Mission & Vision
The Belize Hotel Association encourages and supports the sustainable growth of member hotels through lobbying efforts, national and international linkages, marketing initiatives and training opportunities.
Directors & Staff
Ted Tejada
President
Teodoro Tejada – GM – Best Western Plus Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel and President of the Belize Hotel Association.
In 2000 Mr. Tejada completed his Bachelor’s degree, in Business Administration, from the University of Belize. He immediately started his career at The Radisson Hotel where he worked as an intern in the accounting Department for three months. Soon after his internship, Mr. Tejada was employed at the Princess Hotel where he worked for six years in different capacities. In the summer of 2006, Mr. Tejada moved to the Best Western Biltmore Plaza as the Director of Sales and Marketing. In 2008, Mr. Tejada received an opportunity to work as the Director of Sales and Marketing and Assistant GM, at the Best Western Seven Oaks Inn in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He enjoyed the opportunities Canada provided, but Mr. Tejada believed that he could contribute more in Belize, in the industry that he loves, which is Tourism. In 2014, Ted, as he is widely known, returned to Belize to manage the Best Western Plus Belize Biltmore Plaza, a position he currently holds.
In June of 2017 Mr. Tejada was elected as President of the Belize Hotel Association. That same year he was also selected to serve on the Airlift Committee and Economic Development Council of Belize. Mr. Tejada also serves as on the board of Sunrise Rotary, Belize Tourism Industry Association and Belize Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Tejada has also served on several boards namely The Breakfast Club of Regina, The Eastview Rotary Club, and The Hotel Association of Regina in different capacities.
Barbara Hall
Vice President
Prior to retirement in June of 2013, Barbara resided in the United States for over 43 years with her husband, Evan Hall. In 2009, Barbara and Evan embarked on a dream of returning to and investing in Belize. They are the owners of A Belizean Nirvana, a boutique hotel in Placencia Village that opened its doors in September 2011. Evan and Barbara now reside in Placencia Village, Stann Creek District. Barbara has been serving as a Director on the BHA Board since 2013.
Anoushka Brandl
2nd Vice President
Anoushka Brandl has over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry working with International chain hotels & private companies as well as small luxury brands. Her career has spanned the globe having worked in Mauritius, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Belize to date.
Her experience includes, but is not limited to Operations, Reservations & Revenue and specializing in Sales & Marketing strategies and activation.
Anoushka is passionate about the dynamic environment that the hospitality industry generates and excels in decision making, planning, strategies, guest interaction and building strong teams to ensure efficient practices are followed with commercial gains .
Anoushka has successfully orchestrated Ka’ana Resort for the past 5 years, each year achieving more success.
In temporary absence of the General Manager, Anoushka oversees the hotel operations which requires a very dynamic management style and strong team to help activate initiatives.
She is a highly motivated and driven individual who does not give up easy. She has a strong general management background and commercial instinct. Anoushka feels that Belize offers the opportunity to continuously grow and learn.
Rudy Gonzalez
Treasurer
Mr. Rudy Gonzalez has in excess of twenty years of experience with Atlantic Bank Limited; where he has been given the opportunity to grow and experience the credit card department, credit department, customer care and several managerial positions at the bank. Mr. Gonzalez is now responsible for Atlantic Bank’s tourism sector, countrywide. He is presently a Board Member of the Belize Hotel Association. Both of these business organizations have exposed him to Belize’s tourism industry, where he plays an active role in promoting our country.
Stephanie Elena
Secretary of the Board
Born in Canada, Stephanie Elena grew up moving from one destination to another as a result of her father’s profession. By the age of 20, Stephanie had lived in 11 different destinations where she was able to experience the culture and uniqueness of various communities, which subsequently fostered her interest for tourism and travel. She is fluent in Spanish and English, with a good understanding of French as well.
She graduated with a dual Bachelor’s Degree majoring in International Business and a Minor in Marketing from the University of Indianapolis (USA) and Galen University (Belize). Since 2013, she has been working for the San Ignacio Resort Hotel and is currently the lead for their Marketing and Public Relations endeavors.
Since 2017, Stephanie has been part of the Board of Directors for the Belize Hotel Association where she has been fulfilling the role of Secretary for 3 years. Stephanie is the BHA representative for the Belize Birding Festival, an event in collaboration with the Belize Tourism Industry Association and Belize Audubon Society, that aims to encourage nature and birding activities in Belize.
Although she specializes in trade, advertising, social media, branding, and content creation, her favourite specialty is connecting with public relation companies, journalists and media representatives in order to showcase her property as well as the adventures found within Belize.
Barry Snowden
Director
Barry moved to Belize 7 years ago to manage Los Porticos Villas in Placencia Belize. He set up his company, Snowden Consulting Ltd., and they are now expanding the property management portion of the business along with investigating new opportunities for businesses in the Placencia and Hopkins area.
Barry spent 30+ years in the hospitality business in Canada, working for the Calgary Stampede and other prestigious wine businesses in Calgary.
He enjoys representing Belize at the trade shows that the BHA attends and loves to talk non-stop about how wonderful the people and country of Belize is, encouraging that it is a “Must Place to Visit!”
Sandra van Noord
Director
Sandra is very active in the tourism industry and has a passion for promoting beautiful Belize and our BHA members.
Since 2009 Sandra has been on the Board of the Belize Hotel Association. The past 5 years she served as Vice President and presently she is holding the position of Director.
Douglas Thompson
Director
Sherry Constantino
Director
Sherry is the Administrator at eData Ltd., and brings over 20 years of experience in her field. She is an enthusiastic and innovative professional with extensive experience in event management, product marketing, administrative and human resources. In her role as Administrator at eData she also contributes to the day-to-day business operations and long-term business development planning. She is passionate about event planning and developing, coordinating and managing meetings, workshops, seminars, trade shows, and corporate events as well as preparing and delivering presentations to clients on products developed by the company.
Sherry once held the post of Membership Administrator at the Belize Chamber of Commerce & Industry, where she was the lead organizer for the annual Expo Belize Marketplace and where she developed her passion for events planning and organizing.
Before joining eData Ltd., she was the Acting Business Development Director at Intelco where she was responsible for the overall management of all strategic and operational Marketing and Customer Relationship activities.
Interests: Decorating, crafting, event planning
Philosophy: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
~Charles Darwin
Roanne Badillo
Director
Born and raised in Belize, Roanne is a proud graduate of the University of Belize, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in the year 2000. Soon after, she started her career at Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. During her 17-year tenure, Roanne held several positions and gained a wealth of knowledge.
In January 2018, Roanne joined the team at Tropic Air where she holds the post of Sales Manager. She was soon after selected to sit on the BHA Board. Roanne is eager to promote Belize and everything the country has to offer.
Alina Saldivar
Director
Alina was born and raised in Belize City. She graduated from the University of North Florida where she majored in International Business. She started her career working in the offshore banking industry in Belize. Here she got a feel of the tourism industry as it was a source of financing to help international real estate developers with their resort developments in Belize.
In 2010, Alina became an entrepreneur as she and her husband developed Island Magic Beach Resort from the ground up in Caye Caulker. She commutes daily to the island as she is a very hands-on manager.
She is very organized and detail oriented. She enjoys interacting with her guests and strives to make their Belize experience a memorable one.
Leisa Carr Caceres
Past-President
Leisa’s family moved to Belize in 1977 and are the owners of Banana Bank Lodge & Jungle Horseback Adventures where she works alongside her family in operations and marketing. Leisa has been riding horses since the age of 5, and travel and adventure have been a part of her everyday life for as long as she can remember. Leisa also lived several years in El Salvador where she became fluent in Spanish and owned and operated a shoe factory. Returning to Belize and Banana Bank Lodge in 1999 she served on the BHA Board as a Director from 2000 – 2001 and then again served starting in 2010 – 2013 as Director then as President for 3 years from July 2013 to June 2017.
Leisa also is a stained glass artist having crafted windows for different churches and establishments throughout Belize and beyond. Some of her work is at the Holy Redeemer Church, St. John’s Cathedral, Divine Mercy Church, Grand Caribe Resort as well as several private homes. She also makes smaller items for gift shops. Besides stained glass, horses and travel Leisa also has a passion for art and music and is excited to see more of both incorporated in Belize tourism.
BHA Staff
Simone Bell
Marketing and Membership Manager
Simone Bell is responsible for the successful implementation of a comprehensive marketing, digital communications, and public relations programs to enhance the association’s image and position with the market place. She has a strong foundation in Hotel Management and over ten years’ experience in corporate branding, retail sales & marketing, event coordination, and small business ownership.
Naomi Ashby
Administrator
Naomi Ashby is responsible for the efficient running of the day to day operations of the Association and provides support to the Membership Executive and the Marketing Director. She is also responsible for the daily financial functions of the association. Naomi is by profession an accountant with over ten years of experience working in the private sector. Having attained her Associates degree in Business Administration with Accounting as a major from SJCJC, she is an enthusiastic professional whose passion spreads as far as any creative arts.
Andrea Reneau
Marketing and Membership Coordinator
Andrea Reneau is responsible for the content building of the BHA brand and promotion of existing and prospective clients. Through a relationship based approach, she is tasked with maximising exposure of our members and creating marketing activities to generate revenue opportunities for BHA.