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Top Names in Hospitality and Travel Unite to Support HSMAI Foundation's New Corporate Membership Program |
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WASHINGTON, DC (Jan. 11, 2001) – In an unprecedented move, a diverse group of 22 companies reflecting a cross-section of the industry’s most prominent players are uniting in support of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Foundation’s new Corporate Membership Program, with the focus of conducting research and creating benchmark studies specifically for the sales and marketing discipline.
Through this effort, which officially will be launched on Jan. 24 at a meeting of the Research Advisory Council, hospitality and travel professionals will be in a position to take a leadership role in creating the agenda for cutting-edge research.
Representing a broad range from hotel chains to management companies and information specialty vendors within the hospitality, travel and tourism sector, the 2001 membership roster includes: Benefactors at $10,000: Bass Hotels & Resorts, Cendant, Citibank Diner’s Club, MeriStar Hotels & Resorts and Marriott; and Supporters at $5,000: Accor, American Golf, Choice Hotels International, John Q. Hammons Hotels, Manhattan East Suite Hotels, MMG Worldwide, Omni Hotels, Opryland, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Prime Hospitality, Radisson, RealTime Hotel Reports, Ron Volper Group, Smith Travel Research, Sonesta, Starwood and TravelClick.
“We are so encouraged by the industry’s response to this initiative, which has surpassed our expectations,” states Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “This will effectively give our corporate members a voice in determining and prioritizing the research that is conducted on the industry’s behalf.”
The Corporate Membership Program was created to enhance the body of knowledge of HSMAI and its positioning in the industry by directing research initiatives and objectives to be implemented by the Foundation. Participation in the Corporate Membership plan allows hospitality and travel executives to be pro-active in determining and directing research initiatives by providing input on objectives and the content of research studies.
With membership exceeding expectations, the HSMAI Foundation surpassed its goal and raised more than $120,000 to launch the Corporate Membership Program.
Sal Dickinson, vice president of marketing for MeriStar Hotels & Resorts and HSMAI Foundation Chair says: “There is no other place, other than proprietary efforts, where sales and marketing executives can go to find benchmark studies that will help the hospitality industry stay ahead of the times.” He adds: “Participation in this Corporate Program actually allows members the ability to influence the research agenda.”
Examples of some of the research studies that may be initiated with the input of the Foundation’s Corporate Members are:
· Customer relationship management and loyalty programs
· Profiles of successful sales and marketing people
· Compensation and incentives for hospitality sales/marketing professionals
· Sales and marketing operating and productivity metrics
· Trends in distribution costs and structures
· Internet applications
Council members will be surveyed to determine research topics of interest to them, and those subjects will then be ranked in order of top priority by the Foundation’s Corporate Members. Those research studies and educational programs that Corporate Members deem to be of fundamental importance will be produced. Once the research is completed, the findings are published and distributed complimentary to Corporate Members well in advance of the industry at-large.
Both levels of membership provide the following:
· A seat on the HSMAI Foundation’s Research Advisory Council that sets the Foundation’s annual research agenda. Supporter membership offers one voting representative on the Council that establishes research priorities, while Benefactors are entitled to two voting Council members;
· Advance receipt of research studies;
· Recognition in all marketing and promotional materials and forums as well as corporate name logo identity positioned in the same realm as timely and cutting-edge research;
· Complimentary attendance to each one-day symposium, to review research results.
Additionally, Benefactors are entitled to:
· Two complimentary registrations to one HSMAI Executive Travel and Hospitality, Innovation, Networking and Knowledge (THINK) forum and discounts on other THINK forums. In 2000, HSMAI held three Executive THINK forums on Future Technology, Branding and E-Commerce. In 2001, a session on Globalization will be held on March 7, and other forums will be announced;
· Free access to the HSMAI Foundation Online Resource Center that links the Foundation’s Web site to more than 2,000 hospitality-related organizations;
· Access to raw data will be made available to Corporate Benefactors who wish to use it to supplement their own research projects or for other research purposes.
The HSMAI Foundation was established in 1983 to serve as the research and educational arm of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International. Its mission is to expand and enhance the educational opportunities available to hospitality sales and marketing executives through publishing relevant industry content, increase the amount of in-depth research conducted on behalf of the profession, as well as offer scholarships. The Foundation’s research projects result in cutting-edge publications, studies and reports, including books focusing on the art and science of sales and marketing, compensation, the Internet, e-commerce and key issues and trends affecting the industry now and into the millennium.
For more information, contact the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, 1300 L Street, NW, Suite 1020, Washington, DC 20005, or call (202) 789-0089. You can also contact HSMAI via the web site at www.hsmai.org or via the Fax-On-Demand service at (800) 66-HSMAI (International access number 617-960-9267).
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Contact Information:
Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102
phone (703) 610-9024
fax (703) 610-9005
Click for Website
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HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry, while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales and marketing management disciplines. Founded in 1937, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising nearly 7,000 members from 35 countries and 60 chapters worldwide. |
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