Webinar: Virtual COVID-19 Roundtable on Navigating the New Normal

As the hospitality industry reels from the unprecedented impact of novel coronavirus on its way of life and business, there are those who are rallying against the uncertainty of what may happen next, determined, instead, to find a surer footing on what is undeniably a rocky road.

The panelists on HM's Virtual Roundtable are among this group, eager to share their ideas and perspectives on how the industry might move forward as it looks to avoid the roadblocks thrown up by COVID-19.

• Vijay Dandapani - President/CEOHotel Association of New York City - Vijay Dandapani is president/CEO of The Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. (HANYC). He served as the organization's chairman beginning in 2015 before being appointed to his current post in January 2017. A hotel-industry veteran who in 1993 co-founded Apple Core Hotels, an owner/operator of boutique hotels in Manhattan, Dandapani was president of the company until December 2016. He is active in the hospitality industry, speaking on a variety of issues at different forums including, The Lodging Conference, the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), the University of California at Los Angeles, Columbia University, New York University and the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives.
• Mark Dorr - President - New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association - Mark Dorr is president of the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association (NYSH&TA), a not-for-profit trade organization founded in 1887 that represents more than 1,000-member businesses and individuals in the lodging and attractions industry. The Association's mission is to provide legislative and regulatory advocacy to the state's lodging industry. Dorr joined NYSH&TA in 2003 as its communications manager. He was named NYSH&TA's vice president in 2010 and was elevated to his current post in 2016.
• Michael Jacobson - President/ CEO - Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association - Michael Jacobson is president/CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association (IHLA), representing 1,500 hotels and other hospitality stakeholders throughout the state. Jacobson's priorities for the organization include bolstering the industry's advocacy capacity in Springfield, Ill., and municipalities throughout the state, while enhancing IHLA's educational programs to serve as a resource for its members. Prior to joining IHLA, Jacobson spent eight years at the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) where he led the organization's grassroots advocacy and political engagement initiatives. He grew USTA's political action committee to become one of the nation's largest travel industry PACs and spearheaded campaigns such as the national Vote Travel bus tour and the successful effort to reauthorize Brand USA in 2014.
• Bijal Patel - Chairman, California Hotel & Lodging Association - CEO/Principal Partner, Coast Redwood Hospitality - Bijal Patel is the 2020 chairman of the California Hotel & Lodging Association, the youngest person in that role in the Association's 127-year history. CH&LA is the largest state hospitality group in the United States, with approximately 2,000 members who represent almost a quarter-million properties that range in size from small "mom-and-pop" operations to hotels with 3,000 rooms. Patel also is chief executive officer of Coast Redwood Hospitality, a company based in Northern California that owns and operates a portfolio of hotel and multi-family assets. A third-generation hotelier, for the past five years he has held leadership roles in the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), notably as a member of the professional hoteliers committee and as an ambassador in the group's North-Pacific region.

This webinar is hosted by hotelmanagement.net

For more information please contact Team HMM