MMH&LA - the source for information and education, and the advocacy voice for the hotel and lodging industry in the metropolitan Memphis area. MMHLA Luncheon ! W ho A re Y our S tars ? April 2016 Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association www.mmhla.com MMHLA OFFICERS & BOARD June 15 – MMHLA Golf Tournament! Hilton Memphis May 18, 2016 To Make Reservations: Phone: 901-581-5618 Email: [email protected]MMHLA Offices: 901-581-5618 8544 Rankin Branch Rd. Millington, TN 38053 [email protected]www.mmhla.com Deanna Ross Administrative Assistant MMHLA Officers: Mary Calorio.........................Chairman Wayne Tabor .........................President Tricia Weatherford........Vice President Doug Owings.......................Treasurer Matt Huss.............................Secretary John Rucker ............Sergeant-at-arms MMHLA Board of Directors: Doug Browne Noe Cerrato Shawn Danko Anne-Marie Famalette Angie Hines David Jachetta Kevin Kane Jimmy Kiser Pierre Landaiche Chuck Pinkowski Sam Ward Registration 11:30 a.m. Luncheon at Noon A SHINING S T RS NO MATTER W H E R E YOU A R E ! Everybody’s Got to Have a Star! See who’s chosen Best of the Best at MMHLA’s Annual Stars of the Industry Program, Wednesday, April 20, at the Memphis Cook Convention Center. Make reservations now, if you haven’t already, and show your support for your nominees! You did remember to nominate them? Didn’t you? Floating in the Page One Heavens Above – last year’s stars! Who’s who? Check page 3!
Transcript
MMH&LA - the source for information and education, and the advocacy voice for the hotel and lodging industry in the metropolitan Memphis area.
MMHLALuncheon!
Who Are Your Stars?
April 2016
MMHLAMMHLAMetropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association
MMHLA Board of Directors:Doug BrowneNoe CerratoShawn DankoAnne-Marie FamaletteAngie HinesDavid Jachetta
Kevin KaneJimmy KiserPierre LandaicheChuck PinkowskiSam Ward
Registration 11:30 a.m.Luncheon at Noon
JASHINING ST RS NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE!
Everybody’s Got to Have a Star! See who’s chosen Best of the Best at MMHLA’s Annual Stars of the Industry Program, Wednesday, April 20, at the Memphis Cook Convention Center. Make reservations now, if you haven’t already, and show your support for your nominees! You did remember to nominate them? Didn’t you?
Floating in the Page One Heavens Above – last year’s stars! Who’s who? Check page 3!
A Networking Cocktail Reception!MMHLA Administrative Assistant Deanna Ross; Anna Hamilton, Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel; Tricia Weatherford, Residence Inn Downtown.
Comfort Inn Downtown’s Becky Anderson with Rick Apple, Performance Food Service.
MMHLA President, Wayne Tabor introduces Austin White, Tennessee Hospitality & Tourism Association’s Education Foundation Director.
John Davis, with Heartland Payment Systems, has something to say.
Noe Cerrato, Hilton Garden Inn Wolfchase & Gary Bellanti, Open Road Technologies.
Big grins for the camera: Jimmy Kiser, US Foods & Holiday Inn Downtown’s Wayne Tabor.
LAZ Parking’s AlexDeBenedetto & WayneGlisson, with HolidayInn Downtown’s AllisonCampbell.
The light musta got’im! Standard Textile’s “Blinkin’”Bill Anderson & Doug Owings of Owings Properties.
Tonya Maness, Hilton Garden Inn Wolf-chase General Manager & staff – hosts for the the first MMHLA Afternoon Social.Loved everything! Invite us back! Please?
Mark the Date! Wednesday, March 16, at the Hilton Garden Inn Wolfchase. The First MMHLA
Afternoon Networking
Social. I don’t know about
you, but it looked like a success to me!
A Networking Cocktail Reception!
N E W M E M B E R S !Blue Knight ProtectionBryan [email protected] Appointment Only
The Guest House at GracelandMike PramshaferVP Sales & [email protected] www.graceland.com/lodging/guesthouse
The 2015 Stars of the Industry! Pictured on the Cover: The 2015 Stars of the Industry!(Clockwise from the left): Marcus Blake, Westin Memphis Beale; Jeremie Skinner (above & to the right), FedEx Family House; Marvin Toney (below), Peabody Memphis; Nicole McGee, Madison Hotel; Doris Ellis, Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel; Olga Sapega (below), Residence Inn Downtown; Brad-
ford Toney, Westin Memphis Beale; Andrea Franklin, Westin Memphis Beale; Lavincia Porter, Holiday Inn Downtown; Fred Wilson, Courtyard Marriott Collierville; Don Michael Norwood (above, to left) Westin Mem-phis Beale; Tracey Henninger (below), Residence Inn Downtown; Doug Owings, Owings Properties; Lisa Catron (above), Memphis Convention & Visitors Bu-reau; Matt Huss, Sheraton Memphis Downtown.
Tonya Maness, Hilton Garden Inn Wolf-chase General Manager & staff – hosts for the the first MMHLA Afternoon Social.Loved everything! Invite us back! Please?
Maximizing the Potential of Food and Beverage OfferingsPosted by: Casey Gale in Featured, Food and Beverage, Quick Bites March 21, 2016
When it comes to food and beverage, there are several moving parts to keep operations afloat. Lara Latture, principal and chief operating officer of Washington state-based The Hotel Group, gives six quick tips on how management compa-nies can help hotels’ food and beverage programs run as efficiently and successfully as possible.Location, location, location. When first developing a hotel restaurant or bar, Latture says it is essential to consider not only
what travelers, but also locals are looking for. “What makes this something that the city will want to be a part of? If you want to be successful with your revenues, you really need local buy-in from the community. You need a reason for people other than guests to come over to your hotel. You can’t simply rely on your overnight guest,” she says. In order to capture the
local flavor, she suggests partnering with establishments in the area.Craft a flexible menu. Building a menu with healthy offerings and sleek
presentation is key, but Latture also stresses how important it is for eats to work in all areas of the hotel, from the bar to catering. “Make sure the menu is something you can roll over,” she says. “Don’t ignore the group sector.”Choose the right people. “You want to go have a couple of drinks locally
and find the best bartenders out there, and try to entice them to come work for you,” Latture suggests. “And bartenders aren’t bartenders anymore—they’re mixologists. They’re the person who’s going to come up with a cock-tail that people will want to try. Hiring staff who will create a true experience for customers is the way to draw in business.”Take advantage of common areas. In more traditional hotels, the main food
and beverage draw is the restaurant, which may or may not be off the beaten path for guests. Today, hoteliers can take full advantage of lobby and lounge spaces to entice guests for a quick bite, Latture says. “Someone might sit down in your lobby while waiting for a ride or for an event and as long as you’re pre-pared and have staff, you can service them right there. The way hotel common areas are being designed now are very conducive to allow someone to sit down and have a beverage, eat an appetizer, or grab lunch.”Follow the leaders. Which brands are making the most cutting-edge decisions
or studying your key demographics? Latture says it is crucial to stay on top of the trends and not be afraid to take cues from bigger, more powerful peers.Overhire in leadership positions. Finding talent who will create fun, fresh
experiences for customers and fellow employees is important, and such inspiration starts at the top. Hiring an innovative executive chef or food and beverage director can make morale—and profits—soar. Latture says that even though premier chefs in high demand may be hard to come by, there are usually well-trained experts who can help take the program to the next level. “It’s one of the most important hires you can make at a hotel when you have a full-service food and beverage program.”
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Do you see the stars? Do you see the stars? Then pick them out and honor them! Win-
ners will be announced and awards passed at the Apr. 22 MMHLA Luncheon Meeting at the Peabody Hotel, downtown Memphis.Deadline for nominations is Mar. 31, 2015.
Nomination forms are available at www.mmhla.com.Categories are: MMHLA General Manager of the Year.MMHLA Allied Award of Excellence.MMHLA Associate Award of Excellence.Food & Beverage Employee of the Year.Sales Employee of the Year.Lodging Employee of the Year.Manager of the Year.Housekeeper of the Year.Maintenance Employee of the Year.Upcoming Stars of the Industry.GOLD STAR PUBLIC RELATIONS
[email protected] or watch www.mmhla.com.You got stars out there. The world isn’t flat.
Honor your stars!
Maximize your profitablility . . . with Heartland Payment Systems® – the Tennessee Hospitality Association's exclusively endorsed provider of card processing, check management and payroll services. For more information contact Chris Dobbins at 865-201-8804 or [email protected].
Well, it’s April already. The first quarter went by fast, and I hope you had a good one. It looks like occupancy is picking up now that we are experi-encing spring weather. Memphis in May is just around the corner.
We held our first MMHLA Membership Mixer March 16 at the
Membership Mixer! Stars of the Industry Coming Up! Convention Center Renovations Underway! Running the Dial
on Memphis Hospitality Industry News & All the Programs Are Great!MMHLA
Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association
This was last year’s Buyers’ Guide.
Wait til you see 2016’s!Are you in? Contact John Rucker
901-458-3912, [email protected] for advertising rates @ information!
Hilton Garden Inn Wolfchase. It was well attended with great food and lots of conversations. We have received some great
reviews and feedback about the event and we plan to have a couple more of these mixers this year.
We had several new members sign up for our new Young Professionals Under 40. If you’re interested contact Austin White: [email protected], or 615-385-9970.
The Stars of the Industry is April 20 and I want to encourage everyone to attend this meeting, as it’s one of our best.
On the legislative front, we have
Hilton Garden Inn Wolfchase
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Like it never happened.R
Wayne TaborPresident MMHLA
Wayne Tabor
had a lot of success this year. Efforts through our state legislative team have paid off regarding bills that would affect the way we do business. Greg Adkins and his team have done a tremendous job supporting our best interests.
Efforts to renovate the Memphis Cook Convention Center are under way. There have been some studies done by Scott Fleming and Associ-ates on upgrading the facility. The designs look great and are long over-due.
As you know the new city bed tax was passed to help fund this proj-ect. From what I have seen, I think you all will be proud of what is being proposed there. I will have updates on the convention center in my next letter.
I guess that is all for this month as Rucker did
not give me a lot of time this month to write my letter.
I hope to see you around town. Send me your overflow.
Editor’s Note: You’ve got the wrong guy Wayne! John’s the man who handed you the dead-line, but it was me running late!Wayne LewisEditor, MMHLA Newsletter
Dates & locations subject to change. (*Indicates change from normal 3rd Wed. of month)All 2016 luncheon programs and locations are not yet set. If you would like to volunteer a venue or present a luncheon program please contact Deanna Ross. Her numbers are in the Upcoming Events box on the cover.
