IHA Gets Mandate To Become International Hotel & Restaurant Association
Paris, 13 November 1996 - The General Assembly of the International Hotel Association (IHA), meeting at its annual Congress www.hospitalitynet.nl/iha/congress in Mexico City last month, gave a new mandate to the organisation to become the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA).
While the IHA has traditionally described itself as a "world organisation of hotels and restaurants", the change of name will enhance the status of the food service industry within the organisation and prompt extension of its services to restaurants.
President-elect Michael B Peceri, Vice Chairman of Florida-based South Seas Resorts Co who has been a driving force behind the change of focus said: "One of my major goals is to make the IHA a truly global association and position it as the unquestionable voice of the hotel and restaurant industry worldwide. This is an important step that will be of tremendous value for everyone."
Peceri, who will take up office in January 1997 for one year, lists among his priorities a major drive to re-establish independent hotels as the strong core of support they have provided the association in the past.
Peceri will be strongly supported in his role by Eric Pfeffer, President of HFS Global Services, who was elected IH&RA Vice President for 1997. Pfeffer's name is synonymous with the Howard Johnson chain www.hojo.com, part of an expanding portfolio of HFS brands, where he forged a career starting as assistant front desk clerk and rising to the position of president and COO. After two decades at Howard Johnson, Pfeffer took up his current position earlier this year where he is charged with developing HFS internationally.
In an effort to ensure a more diverse leadership that represents all regions of the world, the General Assembly also approved the appointment of up to six Regional Vice Presidents. The first to be nominated was Dr Osmane Aïdi, President of the Inter-Arab Union of Hotels and Tourism and IH&RA Regional Vice President for the Middle East and the Arab World.
Elections also took place to appoint new members of the policy-making board of the IH&RA. Representing hotel chain members are David Jarvis, Chief Executive of Hilton International, and Leonard Menezes, President of the Taj Group of hotels based in India. Robert Collier, Joint Managing Director, Inter-Continental Hotels & Resorts, will head the advisory group for member international hotel chains.
The Congress theme - "Rising to the Challenge" - provided over 400 delegates with insight into future industry developments from major players in the business, including Inter-Continental's Robert Collier, Bill Fisher, incoming President & CEO of the American Hotel & Motel Association (AH&MA)www.ahma.com, Bryan Langton, Chairman & CEO of Holiday Inn Worldwide , and Eric Pfeffer, President/Managing Director, HFS Global Services, who shared their vision of the trends most likely to shape the industry.
They were unanimous that the vacation ownership industry ('timeshare') is set to take off. Langton predicted that the timeshare market, armed with its successful current range of products, could spiral at a huge rate, and cautioned hoteliers to be extremely wary.
Pfeffer, who admitted that HFS' ongoing acquisition of leading timeshare exchange provider Resort Condominiums International caused a stir in the marketplace, anticipates a growing number of operators will want to develop brand 'mixed-user' projects - a combination of rooms plus the conversion of suites into timeshare opportunities. His prediction was confirmed by Collier, who believes stand-alone 500-room atrium/lobby hotels could become a thing of the past.
Pfeffer underlined the future importance of franchising, both from a financial standpoint and as part of the move towards globalisation: "Franchising is undoubtedly a worldwide trend, whether we are talking mature or emerging market," he said. "It is also a consumer-driven phenomenon, with distribution and quality the name of the game."
Langton said continuous education was required on franchising in Europe and Asia-Pacific, with a focus on gaining competitive edge - which product can be offered as a means of differentiation.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the international hotel industry over the last 40 years, Langton was appointed Officer of the "Confrérie des Amis de l'Hôtellerie Internationale" at the Congress. Also appointed was Ken Hine, outgoing President and CEO of the AH&MA, who has made a significant contribution to the work of the IHA and been a driving force behind its recent development.
Among other awards presented at the Congress was the IHA "Green Hotelier of the Year", presented to a corporate and independent hotelier in recognition of their efforts to "green" their operations. Ann Checkley, Director Communications and Environmental Affairs at Toronto-based Canadian-Pacific Hotels clinched the corporate "Green Hotelier" title, while Peter McAlpine, Total Quality Manager of the Phuket Yacht Club and Beach Resort in Thailand won the award in the independent category.
This year's "Young Hoteliers of the World" award was presented to Paul Tchen, Assistant Front Office Manager at Hong Kong's Peninsula Hotel and Lana Dubovik, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Radisson Valley Center Hotel in Los Angeles. The award programme was created in 1992 in association with HOTELS magazine, the IHA's official journal, to recognise outstanding career achievement among hospitality professionals under the age of 30.
Other prominent leaders from Travel & Tourism who addressed the Congress were keynote speaker Harvey Golub, CEO of American Express, and Silvia Hernandez, Mexican Minister for Tourism.
In conjunction with the IHA's 50th birthday celebrations, next year's Congress will be held in Amsterdam from 2-6 November.
Editor's note: The International Hotel & Restaurant Association is the voice of the world hotel and restaurant industry with a global role in representing, protecting, promoting and informing the industry to enable members to achieve their objectives. The IH&RA represents over 300,000 establishments in 147 countries.
