HSMAI Honors Sales And Marketing Excellence At Awards Night Dinner - Competition Reveals the Best of Travel and Hospitality's Advertising, Public Relations and Web Marketing

In what is the largest travel-related competition of its kind in the world, which first began 45 years ago, more than 1,500 entries were received from 46 countries. Winners consisted of "Best of Show" in each of the three categories, as well as Platinum for most outstanding, and Gold, Silver Merit and Bronze Merit recipients.

This year's event, emceed by the host of Hollywood Squares and America's Funniest Home Videos, Tom Bergeron, was held at the Marriott Marquis in New York and attended by a who's who of the hospitality, travel and tourism industry.

HSMAI also paid tribute to two individuals who have made lasting impressions on the industry, with the Albert E. Koehl Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Horst. H. Schulze, the hotel visionary who was the driving force behind the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and the Winthrop W. Grice Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed on Eric Friedheim, editor emeritus, Travel Agent Magazine.

And, for the first time an E-Commerce Marketer of the Year Award, sponsored by TravelCLICK, was awarded and presented to the Peninsula New York Hotel.

"This annual awards competition and evening of recognition is a way of showing the entire industry the year's best of the best - creative, innovative and cutting-edge marketing campaigns and the talent behind them," said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI.

In each of the three categories, one entry is judged "Best of Show," recognizing the most outstanding entry in that individual competition. The 2001 winners were:

• H. Victor Grohmann Award/Adrian Advertising Best of ShowWyndham Hotels & Resorts; Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners (agency)
• Edward L. Bernays Award/Public Relations Best of ShowFairmont Hotels & Resorts
• Golden Click Best of ShowVenetian Resort-Hotel-Casino; Interactive Sites (agency)

Platinum Awards (following this e-mail) recognized the most outstanding entry from each category of the travel industry and were judged the best-of-the-best from all the gold winning entries in their respective categories. Winners were presented via a multi-media video presentation, and were welcomed on stage to accept their awards.

HSMAI is the leading organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry leader 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 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprised of over 5,000 members from 35 countries and 60 chapters worldwide.

For more information on HSMAI, contact the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, 1300 L Street, NW, Suite 1020, Washington, DC 20005, or call (202) 789-0089. You can also visit the web site at www.hsmai.org.