Adam Stewart, CD, Hon. LLD, Executive Chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts, received the 2026 International Achievement Award from the American Friends of Jamaica at the organization's annual Hummingbird Gala on October 16 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. The recognition spotlights both his leadership of one of the Caribbean's largest hospitality groups and his response to one of the region's most disruptive recent weather events.
The Rebuild Program
The award arrives roughly one year after Hurricane Melissa shuttered three of Sandals' flagship Jamaican properties. Stewart is leading a US$200 million transformation of Sandals South Coast, Sandals Montego Bay, and Sandals Caribbean Cay — a reconstruction effort that encompasses new accommodations, redesigned pools, and expanded dining concepts at each site. Sandals South Coast is scheduled to reopen November 18, with Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Caribbean Cay following on December 18. For hospitality operators tracking Caribbean recovery timelines, the phased reopening represents a significant marker for Jamaica's inbound tourism sector heading into the 2027 high season.
Even during the closure period, Stewart committed to keeping all Jamaican team members on full payroll with benefits, and directed more than US$5 million toward direct team member recovery support. The Sandals Foundation also mobilized community relief efforts across storm-affected areas of the island — a model of workforce retention under crisis conditions that carries lessons for broader foodservice and hospitality operators navigating disaster scenarios.
People and Scale
In his acceptance remarks, Stewart framed the company's trajectory through its workforce: "More than 20,000 team members are part of our organization today, 97 percent of them born in the Caribbean, with Jamaica at its heart." That figure underscores the outsized role all-inclusive resort groups play as regional employers, touching everything from culinary staffing and food procurement to local agricultural supply chains.
The professional development infrastructure supporting that workforce is substantial. Stewart founded Sandals Corporate University in 2012 to provide Caribbean team members with access to professional certifications, degree programs, and continuing education — a talent pipeline strategy increasingly relevant to hospitality operators grappling with workforce shortages across the industry.
The gala itself drew Jamaica's Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, and Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Edmund Bartlett. Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph received the evening's International Humanitarian Award. For the hospitality industry, the gathering illustrated how closely Caribbean tourism policy and private resort operators remain intertwined — a dynamic shaping everything from airlift investment to food and beverage import regulations on the islands.
Operators following Caribbean all-inclusive expansion and dining trends will note that Sandals' reconstruction blueprint includes elevated culinary programming alongside physical renovations, consistent with broader industry movement toward experiential dining as a key differentiator in the luxury resort segment. The company has separately piloted an Island Inclusive dining program that extends the all-inclusive model beyond resort gates, a format that may signal where high-end resort F&B is heading regionwide.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
