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By Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, President and CEO, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI)
Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to an exciting, successful 2020. At HSMAI, our plan is to keep doing what we do, but even better. We remain focused on economic uncertainty as the biggest challenge facing our members — and committed to developing tools to help them navigate it. From events and certification programs to content and other resources, we will continue to elevate the hospitality industry in a way that fuels sales, inspires marketing, and optimizes revenue.
In 2019, we expanded our portfolio of offerings — which already included the Adrian Awards, the Marketing Strategy Conference, ROC, the CHDM and CRME certifications, seven Executive Roundtable programs, Curate, and the Insights and Executive Insights newsletters — with a new Sales Leader Forum, a new CRMA certification, a newly updated study guide for the CRME, a new line of HSMAI Special Report publications, and a new, HSMAI Foundation–produced CHRO Executive Roundtable.
Heading into 2020, we are better positioned than we’ve ever been. Our work is always determined by what our members need, and this year what they need will be influenced in large part by the economy — so tracking this moving target will remain a high priority for us. Over the last year we have devoted event programs and articles to economic forecasts and analysis, and that continues with this issue of Insights, which includes forecasts curated from a variety of trusted sources. My wish is that you find this information — and everything else HSMAI offers in 2020 — timely, relevant, and actionable.