EI-AH&LF Merger A Done Deal Waiting To Debut

WASHINGTON, D.C.— While it won’t be “officially official” until next month’s spring meeting of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the merger of AH&LA’s Educational Institute and its fundraising arm, the American Hotel & Lodging Foundation, is a fait accompli. At the Association’s recent Legislative Action Summit here, Joseph McInerney, president/CEO of AH&LA, told HOTEL BUSINESS® the streamlined group will be known as the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation and clarified recent reports that EI would cease to exist. “The American Hotel & Lodging Foundation is really sort of the surviving entity of the two. EI as a foundation will go away, but as a trading name will stay,” he explained. All of EI’s competencies, e.g., classes, as well as its Orlando, FL and East Lansing, MI, operations will remain. “It will sell its products and everything as the Educational Institute. It’s got a brand name that’s got a lot of value to it, and we’re not going to change that,” said McInerney. “People on the outside will not even know we did this merger. It will not affect anybody on the outside.” On the inside, however, the staff structure will have a new spin. For starters, Douglas Viehland, president of the AH&LF, will officially depart from his office April 30. Viehland was reportedly leaving at the end of February but had the departure date “pushed back” several times as the proposed merger of his group and EI has played out. McInerney will be the CEO of the new entity, with EI president Anthony Marshall now serving as COO, but operating the EI portion of the AH&LEF. “In the first couple of years we’ll run it in two sections,” said McInerney. “The educational side and the foundation side.” Joori Jeon, AH&LA’s CFO, will work with McInerney on day-to-day activities related to the foundation itself, with support from the director of foundation programs Michelle Poinelli. The merger won’t affect any of the fundraising efforts or what’s now in place, said McInerney. “All of the funds we have now, from all of the different campaigns, and those that are pledged, will be used for what they were solicited for. They will not be diverted to any other function.” Having just closed a major campaign, another one is not on the horizon near-term, he added, but noted he, Jeon and William Hanley, the newly named evp/corporate and member relations, will be coordinating annual giving efforts. “It has to do with the marrying of resources of both, consolidating and streamlining the organization, have it function a little bit better, and having the ability to share resources between the two organizations,” said the CEO. The move also produces cost efficiencies, as both EI’s and AHLF’s top positions were salaried, and McInerney sees other cost-savings ahead, such as consolidating some accounting and IT functions in Orlando. “We don’t really need a strong IT in AH&LA, we need the resources down there, so they can eliminate a position or two. In fact, they’ve already started doing that.” He added the merger will be announced officially during the association’s April 3-4 conference in Philadelphia. McInerney said the foundation’s board of directors met during LAS to discuss the merger, but did not have a quorum. However, those present passed a resolution that they endorsed the merger and requested other board members to do so. Ballots were scheduled to be sent out for response to the action. EI also has ballots out to its board. McInerney said the boards from both entities will be abolished and a new 12-member board put in place with six representatives each from EI and AH&LF. Existing committees and their respective chairpersons will stay in place AH&LA immediate past chairman John Russell will serve as chairman of the board, former AH&LF chairman Steve Belmonte will be vice-chairman and ex-EI chairman Tony Farris will be secretary/treasurer. “We anticipate announcing the formation of the new board at our Philadelphia