HSMAI Marketing Review August 2009 - 1

›› Publisher ROBERT A. GILBERT, CHME, CHA GUEST EDITORIAL Associate Publisher JASON SMITH Editor ILSA WHITTEMORE Honoring a Lifetime of Achieivement You don’t need to be immersed in the travel business to recognize some of the names. Michael Eisner. Richard Branson. Donald Trump. They have become iconic figures, whose reputations have transcended their involvement in travel and it’s easy to understand why they have all been named recipients of lifetime achievement awards from HSMAI. But the selection process to choose the candidates for these lifetime achievement awards isn’t limited to household names. In fact, the nomination process is designed to ensure that anyone who has made a sustained and lasting commitment to excelling in the travel and hospitality industry can be eligible for consideration for either the Albert E. Koehl Award recognizing lifetime achievement in advertising or the Winthrop W. Grice Award honoring a lifetime of excellence in public relations. The process formally begins in the spring when HSMAI invites industry leaders to submit appropriate nominees along with supporting credentials as to why an individual is worthy of receiving this special recognition. Eligible candidates are expected to have spent a significant portion of their career making a positive impact on the travel and tourism industry. They should have shown a history of business success and innovation that has made a lasting impression in the field. And, they should have helped to positively promote our industry and enhanced the lives of others through their efforts and contributions. Using the input of its members, HSMAI assembles a list of the nominees and the credentials that have been submitted and these are presented to the HSMAI Lifetime Achievement Awards Selection Committee which is comprised of 11 former recipients of the Koehl and Grice Awards (see list, page 6). Using the additional input of the Committee, a final ballot is created that features all the submitted names plus those that have been carried over from previous years. The committee is then asked to apply its unique and accomplished perspective to select and honor two individuals from those submitted who they believe have made a significant and lasting contribution to the hospitality and travel industry in the fields of advertising and public relations. The members of the Awards Committee independently contemplate the merits of each nominee and then privately vote for their top three selections, in rank order, for both the Koehl and Grice Awards. The votes of the committee members are then tabulated, with the top vote-getters earning the distinction of being the newest recipients of the lifetime awards. HSMAI then contacts the recipients and the awards are presented as part of the annual Adrian Awards Gala each year in New York City. If there is any challenge in this structured process, it is the fact that there are so many worthy candidates and only two awards to be bestowed. Nonetheless, the committee has found a way to recognize some of the most respected and admired people from our industry and the group looks forward to selecting two more individuals to join this very select and honored fraternity. Gary Leopold Chairman HSMAI’s Livetime Achievement Awards Selection Committee 1 Associate Editor KATHLEEN TINDELL Director of Development LESA FARIS Art Direction & Design THE ART DEPARTMENT DESIGN STUDIO www.theartdepartment.us www.hsmai.org ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES Please contact Lesa Faris at 703-506-3271 or lfaris@hsmai.org The HSMAI Marketing Review (USPS 677-730) (ISSN 0746-9985) is published electronically six times a year by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, 1760 Old Meadow Rd., Suite 500, McLean, VA 22102. The magazine reaches more than 7,000 hospitality sales executives. ©2009 by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. Editorial Offices: 1760 Old Meadow Rd., Suite 500, McLean, VA 22102; Phone: (703) 5063280. Address all manuscripts to this address. The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International is a non-profit educational organization devoted to upgrading the professionalism of those engaged in hospitality industry sales, marketing, and servicing. Annual membership dues include the annual subscription price of $95 for the HSMAI Marketing Review. Additional single copies $25.00. Members: Please send all change of address information to the McLean, VA office; address above. The material in this publication reflects the opinions and philosophies of the individual contributors—and does not necessarily represent or reflect any position (official or otherwise) of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), its staff, officers, or officials. These articles are provided for the interest of the readers—and HSMAI does not certify any of the data or statistics in these articles. SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY GETTY IMAGES

HSMAI Marketing Review August 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of HSMAI Marketing Review August 2009