Karen Whitt

VP of Sales and Marketing

Karen S. Whitt is the Vice-President of Marketing and Brand Development for the Hartling Group Turks and Caicos, managing the award-winning resorts The Sands at Grace Bay, The Palms Turks and Caicos and The Shore Club Long Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands. A native of Dallas, Texas, she brings 25+ years of hospitality industry experience to these landmark properties.

Ms. Whitt began her hospitality career in Texas, moving to Jamaica, and then The Turks and Caicos Islands in 2005 as General Manager of the Somerset Resort on Grace Bay. She became General Manager of the Palms Turks and Caicos in February 2011, and to Senior Vice-President with the Hartling Group in 2015 where she was instrumental in the opening of the trendy Shore Club on Long Bay Beach.
Ms. Whitt is an active Board member of the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association serving as President from 2008 to 2013. Ms. Whitt is an Executive Board member of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and currently serves as Chairman of the CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace.

She is the Chairman of the TCI International Film Festival, and volunteer to numerous civic and professional organizations on the island. An avid supporter of the National Cancer Society, she created and chaired the successful “In the Pink” for the last 13 years. Ms. Whitt was named “Hotelier of the Year” in Turks and Caicos, “Ultimate Hotelier” by Island Destinations and “Top General Manager Worldwide” by Luxury Travel Advisor.

Ms. Whitt holds a Bachelor of Business Management and Communications from Eastern New Mexico University and Hospitality Management Degree from The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.