NEW YORK—The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) together with New York University, held an event here Oct. 17 allowing industry leaders to discuss methods of recovery for hotels struggling in the wake of Sept. 11 events. The “Moving the Industry Forward: An Interactive Strategy Conference,” kicked off with a keynote address from Jonathan Tisch, chairman of the Travel Business Roundtable and CEO of Loews Hotels, who has become a familiar face around Capitol Hill lately, meeting with Senators and presidential advisors to create a plan of action to spur recovery of the nation’s travel industry. Tisch, along with Marilyn Carlson of Carlson Cos., Bill Marriott of Marriott International, and Barry Sternlicht of Starwood Hotel & Resorts, joined representatives from the restaurant, cruise and gaming industries recently to aggressively rally support from government leaders to assist the hundreds of thousands of displaced travel employees. The travel executives are also working to create economic stimulants for business travelers and to develop ways “to overcome the cash crunch” felt by many hotel operators. Tisch was quick to point out that while the hotel industry is looking for help, it is not looking for an economic bailout, similar to what was given to the airline industry. Instead, travel leaders are suggesting the government assist with supplying unemployment benefits and health care coverage for laid off workers, develop tax relief incentives for corporate travelers, delay or extend federal tax payments and temporarily suspend payroll taxes for employers and employees. “Our strength is in the Senate, and hopefully we have some allies in the White House, now that weve educated them,” he said. Tisch referenced a letter sent to the Bush administration in May asking for the creation of a Travel Advisory Council that would unify the travel industry and develop policies to promote tourism to, and within, the United States. “The council would consist of individuals in the public and private sector and would be completely bipartisan…As far as I’m concerned, the fact that Bill Marriott and I have been working together, shows we’re bipartisan,” joked Tisch. Following Tisch’s remarks, John Russell, chairman of the AH&LA, called for a standing ovation in honor of Tisch’s efforts, echoing his sentiment towards government assistance: “So go the airlines, so go we,” he said. Russell assured attendees at the conference that their “voice was being heard,” and offered a way for the hotel industry to support America’s new war— “Let’s fight terrorism with tourism,” he said. Russell noted that while the industry has a long way to go before it truly is recovered, there are signs that the lodging industry is getting back to normal. For example, he said hotels in rural areas in Georgia, Wyoming and Montana “have never done better,” car rentals at downtown locations are up, postponed meetings are being rebooked, travel agent use is up, Thanksgiving reservations are on the rise, and leisure travelers have been actively turning to the Internet for hot travel deals. But business travel still remains down, said Russell, and is continuing to take its toll on the U.S. hotel industry. During the meeting, Russell said he is calling upon the various sectors of the travel industry to create a national travel promotion offering discounted “freedom deals,” not just pretty pictures. “We need to come together, and promote together, and package together,” he said. “If one of us wins, we all win.” Top industry analysts also took the podium, offering grim projections for the U.S. hotel industrys future. Though some of the numbers varied slightly, Mark Lomanno, president/Smith Travel Research; Bjorn Hanson, global industry partner/PriceWaterhouseCoopers; and Peter Y
John Russell