SMART 2026 unveils “Small Hotel Plaza” in partnership with BookingSuccess

GREAT BAY--The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), on behalf of the binational SMART organizing committee, has announced the introduction of a new feature for the 2026 St. Maarten / St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART). At the heart of the tradeshow floor, a dedicated “Small Hotel Plaza” will be created for properties with fewer than 35 rooms, offering them prime visibility at a reduced participation fee. This initiative is launched in collaboration with Caribbean born hotel solution provider BookingSuccess.

SMART, organized by SHTA together with the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB), the Office du Tourisme (OdT), and the Club du Tourisme (CdT), gives international and regional buyers the opportunity to meet and network with suppliers and key tourism partners from St. Maarten / St. Martin, neighboring Caribbean islands, and beyond. The 2026 edition, which takes place from June 22 to 26, will mark the 18th staging of SMART in 25 years. Historically, small hotels have always been well represented at the event. With the 2026 expansion in both floor space and attendance, organizers can now offer a central, clearly branded zone specifically tailored to this segment.

Within Small Hotel Plaza, participating hotels will be assigned compact, tall boy tables that still allow for individual branding and scheduled one on one appointments with visiting travel agents and tour operators. The aim is to provide small properties with the same networking and contracting opportunities as larger exhibitors, but at a more accessible rate. The concentration of small hotels in a central area will also make it easier for vendors that provide products and services tailored to this sector to present their solutions alongside the square.

BookingSuccess, whose tools serve both large and small hotels as well as excursion companies, views the partnership with Small Hotel Plaza as a natural fit. CEO Robin Bunnik stated: “What we try to do as BookingSuccess is to reduce efforts for tourism companies to streamline booking processes, including buyers abroad. It is often the smaller hotels and tourism companies that have difficulty dedicating time to put their product to market. Next to our accomplished product with which we visited SMART many years in a row, we will also focus on our new AI package for excursions. This way, we hope to contribute to both the instruments and future robustness of the Northeastern Caribbean tourism industry.”

Registration for SMART 2026 opened on October 1 with the launch of the “Chirp First Early Bird Season”, a two month window giving participants first choice of locations on the expanded tradeshow floor. More than 50 percent of booths have already been allocated to interested hotels, and overall floor space remains limited. Small Hotel Plaza will therefore be introduced as a pilot with limited capacity. Given the strong demand with nine months still to go, organizers are encouraging small hotels, as well as companies that sell dedicated products and services to this segment, to reserve their place as early as possible by contacting info@shta.com

Shared booths and larger booths will remain available as a backup option if the plaza reaches capacity quickly.

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