The Gateway took New York by storm, making its mark on the association’s annual Fall Conference (November 7-11) for the first time.
Click here to go straight to the Gateway Fall Conference Photo Gallery, and don't forget to catch up on all the association's activities on the AH&LA Fall Conference Wrap Up page.
Each fall, the 83 senior executives on AH&LA’s board of directors meet for four hours to assess the association’s progress and provide strategic direction for the upcoming years. A room traditionally filled with what the current AH&LA Chairman Tom Corcoran calls IWOGs (aka “Incredibly Old White Guys” – we’ll forgive that he switched the letters around to make it sound funny), this year a fresh millennial face stood out when he explained to the crowd one component of AH&LA’s 2009 business plan – his idea.
Through our 2008 Gateway to CEO contest, Edward Reynado, assistant lodging manager of the MacDill Air Force Inn in Tampa, FL, was offered the opportunity to share his proposal for a comprehensive AH&LA student outreach plan. A well-researched initiative, Edward’s plan will allow AH&LA to reach the 50,000 students currently enrolled in a collegiate hospitality program, beginning at pilot schools Florida International University, Penn State, Oklahoma State, and San Diego State University. He’s humble and won’t tell you that he knocked it out of the park with this presentation, but we aren’t as shy. As staff liaisons, we received so much positive feedback, not only for his proactive and creative planning, but also for the opportunity the Gateway gave to our members to shine in front of the board.
Edward rushed right from the board meeting to Professional Bootcamp: Get Your Career in Gear! This session was one of the best-attended of all the 30 educational sessions at the conference – 93, compared with an average of 35 attendees at others. We had to bring in extra chairs to seat all the students and millennials who participated in five roundtable discussions led by high-profile executives on the topics of branding yourself, business etiquette, developing your five- and 10-year plans, coping with change in the workplace, and salary negotiation. The positive feedback has led us to take this show on the road. Keep an eye out for more bootcamps in your area coming in ’09.
Immediately following this session, many attendees headed next door to the 5 Decades in the Workplace panel, co-hosted by the Under 30 Council and Multicultural & Diversity Advisory Council. Our very own Randall Williams, area general manager for the Roberts Hotel Group in Tampa, shone on the panel, which analyzed cross-generational communication, recruitment, and retention strategies in hospitality. Additional speakers included other general managers and the top human resources and diversity officers from both Wyndham and Choice Hotels, each of whom were asked to disclose what generation they identified with.
Millennials were given center sate during Sunday night's Inaugural Gala honoring AH&LA incoming chairman Joe Martin CHA, owner and operator of Stillwater Hospitality, LLC, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Joe spent much of his inaugural speech explaining to the hundreds of senior level executives at the dinner the importance of volunteering their time to participate in the Gateway Mentorship Program. As a result, dozens of preeminent industry leaders have volunteered to be mentors for Gateway members, and now it's your turn to take up their offer and jumpstart your professional growth. Sign up online now by logging into the Members Only site.
Randall and other Under 30 Council members from all over the country reconvened on Monday for our two-hour Council meeting. AH&LA staff liaisons welcomed the council’s officer liaison and incoming Secretary/Treasurer, John Campbell, new Council members (if you want to “meet” them yourself, click here for a link to everyone’s bios), and some other Gateway members who sat in to observe. The meeting brought about many good ideas for future Gateway benefits, new EI certifications, recruitment methods, and the real possibility of the Under 30 Council publishing new research. All members are invited to read the meeting minutes, which are posted on the Under 30 Council committee site.
Last but not least, the icing on the cake was Monday evening’s Gateway Reception: Not Your Boss’ Party, in the classy Library Bar at the Hudson hotel. Hundreds of dollars for the AH&LA Educational Foundation were raised by 65 under-30 attendees from all over the U.S. who got to know one another over complimentary champagne cocktails, sushi, and every girl’s favorite – truffled mac & cheese. Everyone was not only friendly, but truly dedicated to getting involved in the Gateway – we even had two students from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania make the two-hour trek by bus just to come to our event. Now that’s dedication! And we’d be remiss not to again thank our current Council superstar Randall Williams, who was able to convince the president of the Morgans Hotel Group to donate this swanky space and decadent F&B for free!
Those who decided it truly would NOT their boss’ party that night continued on to a non-descript Irish pub somewhere along West 55th, where we had our first celebrity sighting of the night. Renee was the only one brave enough to ask for a picture! After everyone stopped yelling “Ferris!” and he made his way out of our sight, the celebration of a successful conference continued as Council members made plans to meet up for upcoming events, and we’re pretty sure even some love connections emerged but will stay mum.
By the way, Fall Conference pictures are posted via the links above to our Gateway Photo Gallery, with even more on the Under 30 Gateway Facebook group. While you don’t have to be a member of Facebook to see the photos, we hope you’ll get online with our virtual Gateway and help us spread the word to other young hoteliers.
After all, we do it all for you! Events like Fall Conference and all our Gateway benefits are merely our attempts to meet your personal and professional needs as a young industry executive. Your thoughts are always welcome, so don’t be shy about what you think.
If you missed these New York events, don’t dismay. We'll be back next year (November 6-10, 2009). Also, our successes seem to have inspired a lot of interest with many state associations and companies, who are hoping to host Gateway events locally.
Keep checking the Gateway Future Events page to see when we’ll be coming to your town. And, based on the success of the Gateway's Professional Bootcamp, there are likely to be more similar sessions coming up in various cities.