MIAMI BEACH, FL— The ninth annual International Multicultural Tourism/Hotel Ownership Summit & Trade Show kicked into high gear here today at the Royal Palm hotel with dozens of prospective and enthusiastic African American hotel owners grilling conference speakers about the hotel industry. As a result, many of the show’s sessions ended up being defacto tutorials for what could one day be hundreds of new African American hotel investors. In anticipation of those future numbers of new African American hoteliers, the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers— which established and coordinates the Multicultural Summitt and Show— actually laid out a few specific ownership goals for its members and the African American community at large here at the summit. Primary among those goals is the mandate that there be 500 new African American-owned hotels in the United States’ top 25 markets by 2010, according to Warren Fields, a principal with Pyramid Advisors, LLC and a member of NABHOOD’s board of directors. Currently, there is somewhere between 50 and 100 African American-owned hotels, he added. “How do we achieve a 10-fold increase in five years?” Fields asked show attendees during the opening general session this morning titled Changing the Hospitality Industry. “Currently, some of the groundwork is in place with many of the top hotel chains assisting us. And there are many people of color out there with the wherewithal to do it, it’s just that many don’t know enough about our industry. But lending institutions are increasingly willing to lend to African Americans with the backing of national hotel brands now. They don’t care as much about skin color anymore. Lenders care more about profits. But it’s up to the individual to make yourself an attractive candidate.” Along that same 500-hotel goal, Michael Roberts, president of the Roberts Co. and NABHOOD chairman, explained that NABHOOD wants an additional 10 African American-owned hotels in each of the United States’ most populous African American cities within the next 10 years. Within the next 25 to 50 most populous African American cities, NABHOOD wants at least five new hotels in the next 10 years. “We want to build NABHOOD with people that want authority, wealth and legacies,” Roberts added. “Also, with there being 13 to 17 African American colleges in the US with hospitality programs, we should make a commitment to provide those students with a 100% employment rate at our hotels. We also want those students interning at our hotels for the summers.” Later on during the luncheon session today, Bill Fortier, senior vp of franchise development for Hilton Hotels, remarked that he thinks NABHOOD can exceed its 500 hotel goal by 2010, especially considering 500 hotels would only make up 1% of the overall hotel market. Along with Fortier, Hilton ended up providing the featured speaker for the luncheon session in the form of Ernest Wooden, a senior vp with Hilton. He discussed how Hilton is in lock step with NABHOOD through its own diversity programs and initiatives. For example, he explained that the bonuses for the senior management teams at every single Hilton hotel across the country are tied to diversity. “We put our money where our mouth is,” Wooden said. “And we do it not only because it’s right but because there is money to be made through diversity. We know the buying potential of minorities. And we need people working in hotels that look just like the people buying within hotels.” At the close of his speech, Wooden, as well as Fortier, presented a check for $25,000 to NABHOOD and its president, Andy Ingraham, who was celebrated throughout the day here by speaker after speaker for his hard work.
Andy Ingraham