Joe's Tales from the Road

Looking back; moving forward
January 8, 2010

It’s hard to believe the first week of 2010 is already behind us, but the year is off to a great start. In fact, I’m going back to work – at a hotel.  Keeping my promise, the Foundation surpassed its fund raising goal for 2009, so I will put on a uniform and head to the Carlyle Hotel and the J.W. Marriott in D.C. sometime this quarter for two honest days’ work.  Thank you to everyone for your generous contributions.

So far, I’ve spent all of 2010 in D.C. digging out and meeting with our executive management staff,  the entire AH&LA staff  and having our monthly officer’s call.  We reflected on the positive things that happened in 2009 and focused on the strategies for this year.  I know many of us – myself included – were happy to put the year behind us, but sometimes we get so caught up in all the problems that we fail to see all the good things around us.  We in fact had many accomplishments in 2009.  Despite a 3.5% drop in overall property membership, student membership skyrocketed with the development of student chapters, and both the Under 30 Gateway and Women In Lodging more than doubled their membership. 

Our 2009 Green Guidelines Challenge was well received by the industry, and I hear something is in the works for this year’s Earth Day, which I’m sure will be just as exciting. Legislatively, we have been able so far to block the Employee Free Choice Act, which has been haunting our industry for quite some time.  Now we’re all waiting optimistically for the finally passage of the Travel Promotion Act, and hopeful the President can sign it prior to his state of the union address.  Healthcare has been at the forefront as well, and we’ve been actively lobbying to ensure a number of industry-specific issues are included in the final bill that will emerge later this month. 

Now what about your 2009 successes?  I know you have them, so recognize your hard working staff by submitting a Stars of the Industry award nomination.  There’s no better way to show your staff how much you appreciate their tenacity and give them the recognition they deserve. 

Moving into 2010, this year marks AH&LA’s 100-year anniversary, and you can guarantee we’ll celebrate all year long.  We kicked off the celebration at November’s inaugural gala, and every event throughout this year will pay tribute to this milestone.   Be sure to get your copy of our commemorative book, which explores industry and association challenges and accomplishments over the past one hundred years. 

And I know it’s going to be a great year for celebration.  Membership is projected to grow by 1%, and  Women In Lodging, the Gateway, and student membership will also continue to flourish, which is an essential aspect of our industry – these are our future leaders, and it’s important to keep them connected to the association and the industry.  Our six pilot student chapters have rallied significant interest at their respective schools and laid tremendous groundwork for more schools to follow suit this year. 

A great way to assist in motivating today’s youth to join our industry is to participate in National Groundhog Job Shadow Day on February 2.  AH&LA participates every year, and this year we welcome students into our office from the Hospitality High School, which was formed and now administered by the D.C. Hotel & Lodging Association.   I encourage all of you to get involved as well and have local students shadow your staff for a day to learn more about your business. 

But before that begins, the events department, in partnership with the Burba Hotel Network, is highly focused on ALIS, which is coming up on January 25.  Attendance is picking up significantly and looking like it’s going to match last year’s numbers.  Jim Burba has put together an excellent list of speakers and educational tracks designed to help investors capitalize on current market conditions. 

Today we had a very productive meeting with Lodging  Magazine’s publishing and editorial staff to discuss the next 12 months, where the magazine is going, and the marketing and editorial positioning.   

Snow is all around us, and I hope wherever you spend your weekend, it’s warmer than it is here.