Ambitious Agenda Set For New Black Hotel Organization

FORT LAUDERDALE— The newly formed National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) has an ambitious agenda in terms of membership growth and planned impact on the national lodging scene. Barely three months old, the organization has already made considerable inroads into bumping up its ranks, with membership “past 40 and growing daily,” according to NABHOOD President Andy Ingraham of Horizons Marketing Group International here. As impressive as this number might be, Ingraham and association Chairman Donnell Thompson of Thompson Hospitality in High Point, NC optimistically foresee “150 black hotel owners within the organization’s ranks in the next five years.” However, perhaps presenting a greater challenge to the resourcefulness of the association will be its industrywide efforts in the ownership and operational arena. As Thompson noted, NABHOOD “is dedicated to improving the lot and raising the profile of people of color within the lodging business.” To this end, among the initial targets and undertakings identified by the organization include: • Working closely with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), particularly with regard to that organization’s annual grading scorecard vis-a-vis major hotel-franchising companies. • Working with a variety of capital groups and sources to help secure additional financing for African-Americans active in, or looking to enter, the hotel industry. • Setting up training programs within schools as well as on-site at various black-owned and/or black-operated properties to find and educate young people, ultimately to provide top-flight personnel for careers in the lodging industry. • Discern what industry opportunities may be open to blacks at this time, with specific emphasis on the number and level of executive positions available within the hotel ranks and where they might be found. “We feel that the best way to increase the number and quality of career opportunities for African-Americans in this industry is by increasing the black-held ownership stake in the hotel arena,” Ingraham said. As such, one of the avenues he claimed NABHOOD would explore involves getting high-net-worth individuals such as athletes and entertainers involved in the hotel business as an investment option as well as a career possibility. To accomplish this, he noted that the association will also be working to establish a Certified Hotel Administrator designation for these targeted individuals. But these are just some of the “answers” the association is working toward. As Ingraham explained, the fact is these answers in and of themselves are likely to raise still more questions. For one, there is some degree of uncertainty over just how the market will embrace these new owners. Furthermore, he added there is similar concern raised in relation to the impact this influx might have on the industry as well as on local, regional and national economies. “No matter what,” Thompson added, “we feel there is a very real need to raise the profile of the black professional in the hotel business.” He indicated that the fledgling organization has chosen to emulate and work closely with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA). “AAHOA is a perfect example of a group that— by working together toward a common goal— has vastly improved the lot for Asian-Americans in the lodging industry,” Thompson contended. “We realize you have to crawl before you can walk,” Thompson maintained, “but we’re committed to opening eyes— as well as opportunities— as soon and as significantly as possible.” In this vein, he and Ingraham were pointing toward the upcoming Fifth Annual Multi-Cultural Tourism/Hotel-Ownership Summit & Trade Show— slated for the Hotel Inter-Continental Miami this fall— as something of a watershed opportunity for the organization. “Including association members, vendors and a variety of interested parties, we’re anticipating attendance of about 3