PHILIPSBURG--Hotelier Nzinga Lake was re-elected for a second term as president of the St. Maarten Small Properties Association (SMSPA). Jeanina Dupersoy was elected as the new treasurer and Lorraine Scot as new secretary. The elections were held on March 22, in Carl and Sons Lounge.
The Association’s membership includes hoteliers that have been active in tourism for over 30 years and represents over 200 rooms.
The new board is committed and focused on the objectives, goals, and mission of the Association, said Lake of LAMA Guesthouse.
Dupersoy is the manager of Alicia’s Inn, a family-owned guesthouse started by Marvis Leonard and operated by Dupersoy, her daughter. Dupersoy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA).
Scot represents Kary’s Guest House, also a family-owned property. She manages it together with her siblings. Scot is eager to take on this new challenge, to shed light on the forgotten visitors to St. Maarten that make regular use of small properties, said Lake. Scot has a degree in Mass Communication.
“The small hotel sector has long complained about its inability to compete with large hotels. Individually and as a group small hoteliers have sought promotional and marketing partnerships with government as our members don’t have the same marketing budget that large hotels do. Sometimes there is no marketing budget at all,” said Lake.
The SMPA’s mission and goal include working on open and concrete discussions with a broad base of stakeholders in the community, including government agencies such as the Ministry of Tourism and the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, Bankers Association, sports associations, airlines and travel representatives.
“The idea is also to take advantage of key opportunities available by partnering to empower and motivate our members through training, product development, and promoting their properties and our island destination,” said Lake, who has a degree in marketing.
Small hotel properties interested in becoming members of SMPA should send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
