2009 ANNUAL REVIEW
Posted Tuesday, January 19, 2010 ACTIVITIES:
The Association held seven monthly lunch meetings with speakers on such topics as: “Forging Ahead in Turbulent Times” with members of the staff of the Convention & Visitors Bureau; “The State of Hospitality Education in Palm Beach County, Today and in the Future” with Dr. Peter Ricci (Florida Atlantic University), Dr. Mike Hampton (Lynn University) and Dr. Janice Scarinci (Northwood University); “Tourism In Palm Beach County” with Commissioner Jeff Koons, Chair of the County Commission and the Tourist Development Council; “The Challenges Ahead for Palm Beach County Tourism” with Roger Amidon, Executive Director, Tourist Development Council; “Marketing the County in Challenging Times and the $2 Million Stimulus Program” with Jorge Pesquera, President of the Convention & Visitors Bureau; and “Where do we go from here?” with panelists Tricia Taylor (The Breakers), Jeff Castner (Jupiter Beach Resort) and Tom Mulroy (Palm Beach Gardens Marriott) moderated by David Semadeni (Amcal Management Corp.), Allied members also gave presentations on their companies at these luncheons.
The Annual Hotel Day was held at the Hilton Palm Beach International Airport in October and comprised of a Job Fair (243 jobseekers came and 12 companies participated), an Allied Reception and Trade Show (33 Allied Members participated), and the President's Lunch, at which scholarships were presented to students attending Palm Beach Community College, Florida Atlantic University, Strayer University and the Florida Culinary Institute, along with grants to the Tourism, Hospitality & Resort Management Magnet Program at Palm Beach Gardens High School and the Tourism & Hospitality Career Academies at Forest Hill and Olympic Heights High Schools. Clifford Scholarships were also presented at the lunch. Hotel of the Year was awarded to PGA National Resort & Spa and General Manager, Joel Paige and Rooms Division Director, Bill Horn. Allied Member of the Year was presented to the Hospitality Program at Florida Atlantic University and its Director, Dr. Peter Ricci. The Eighth Guest Service and Support Service Employees of the Year awarded by the Association were selected from 19 candidates nominated by their hotels, and were awarded respectively to Latoya Davis, Massage Therapist at the Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa, and Tadeusz “Tad” Gajownik, Engineer at the Boca Raton Bridge Hotel. Each was presented with a check for $1,000.00 and a commemorative plaque, with the other nominees receiving a certificate of achievement.
The Sixteenth Annual Golf Tournament was held at PGA National Resort & Spa on the Champions Golf Course with a team from Muzak Focus Four being this year's trophy winners. We had an excellent turnout and netted, with the raffle and auction, over $13,000 for the education and scholarship fund.
In December, the Association held its Eleventh Annual Christmas Party at Jupiter Beach Resort, comprising of a luncheon reception with food and beverage in abundance and “top-class” entertainment, including Santa Claus with gift donations going to the US Marines’ “Toys for Tots’ campaign.
POLITICAL ACTION:
For the 2009 Legislative session, we continued to keep our political representatives at the local, state, and national levels appraised of the status and needs of the Palm Beach County hospitality and tourism industry, in concert with the Florida Hotel & Lodging Legislative Coalition with Miami and Volusia County associations. We continue to show success for the fourth year with an agenda focusing on issues solely facing the Florida lodging industry.
The Association continued its participation with other civic organizations as a member of the Palm Beach County Business Forum, and reviewed many of the issues such as affordable housing, airport development, South Florida regional transportation, tax rates, etc. that affect business and the community.
OTHER:
The Association's hotel membership was substantially the same this year with 49 (including three management companies), representing 8,619 hotel rooms. Allied membership increased substantially this year to 85 members, an all-time high.
The Association continued in a healthy financial condition with income and expenses substantially in line with our zero-based budget for the year with reserves in hand for the coming year.
Support for the Palm Beach County Convention & Visitors Bureau was a major focus of the Association, its Board and members throughout 2009. A new Executive Director of the Tourist Development Council, Roger Amidon, was appointed this year and we were encouraged by the initiatives taken for the future of Tourism in Palm Beach County.
This year's Clifford Scholarships ($500 each) were presented to three students, Nicholas DeMott, Cynthia Staton, and Michael Lauto at Palm Beach Community College. The Association's own scholarships ($600 each recipient) were presented to seven students: from Palm Beach Community College – Chelsea Lewis; from Florida Atlantic University – Kathryn Price and Jennifer Timpano; from the Florida Culinary Institute – Gunja Kim, Edeline Moise (second year) and Adam Purol (all presently working in members’ properties). Three further awards of $1,000 each were made to the Tourism, Hospitality & Resort Management Magnet Program at Palm Beach Gardens High School and the Tourism & Hospitality Management Career Academies at Forest Hill and Olympic Heights High Schools.
The Hospitality Workforce Program, whose overall goal is to coordinate and support education and training for our industry in partnership with others in the community, continues into its tenth year. Initiatives with regard to: classroom presentations at county high schools; internships and “job-shadowing” for hospitality students; the identification of needed hospitality training and education at our local educational institutions; the support of the Tourism & Lodging Career Academies and Magnet Program in the three high schools and the programs at college and universities; seminars for employees; the publication of the “Guide to Hospitality Education & Training in Palm Beach County”; the Fourth Student Tourism & Hospitality Conference held at the PGA National Resort & Spa, attended by over 150 students in October were all part of the program. We continue to increase the number of high school and college/university/institute students taking tourism and hospitality educational courses in Palm Beach County, which currently number over 1,000.
The fifth “Compensation, Benefits & Employment for the Palm Beach County Lodging Industry” was compiled and distributed in June 2009.
Career opportunities through HotelForcePalmBeach.com was added in 2008 (at no charge to the benefits of hotel membership of the Association) for up to six job openings listed per property at any one time. A Job Bank for those seeking employment in our industry was further developed this year and has proved to be an excellent recruiting resource. A monthly average of over 400 jobseekers a day goes the website in search of opportunities.
The website (www.hotelassociation.com) continued to be updated with a number of additions and refinements to enhance the benefits to the membership and those looking for information on the Palm Beach County hospitality industry.
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