AAHOA Lodging Business JANUARY 201314

From The President

Paving the Way for Future Success Through Professional Development

Asian American Hotel Owners Association

Fred SchwartzPresidentLaura Lee BlakeVice President of Fair Franchising & Government Affairs and General CounselJonathan AlbanoDirector of Membership ServicesDeborah BlackDirector of Meetings, Education & Professional DevelopmentAmy BordenDirector of MeetingsJames JenkinsDirector of Business DevelopmentChris CarlsonPR and Communications ManagerScott KingManaging Attorney, Government AffairsKathryn StoneManaging Attorney, Fair FranchisingGeetika PatelOperations ManagerLaarni MataAccounting ManagerJaneé BrownVendor Relations CoordinatorSherri ChanceMembership Services SupervisorIrene MworiaMembership Services AssociateNikiya RichardMembership Services Associate

Asian American HotelOwners Association7000 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd.Building 7Atlanta, Ga. 30328-6707Tel: (404) 816-5759Fax: (404) 816-6260www.aahoa.comAAHOA promotes and protects the interests of its members by inspiring excellence through programs and initiatives in advocacy, industry leadership, professional development, membership benefi ts, and community involvement.

Wasted opportunities are the dread of every entrepre-neur. Knowing when as

well as how to capitalize on condi-tions and the landscape of the market or industry is too oft en the diff erence between success and failure. This is where education and professional development come into play. When armed with the proper know-how and savvy to outperform the competi-tion and stay ahead of the curve, your bott om line will fl ourish.

As one of the foremost member-ship associations, AAHOA strives to continually provide the most cutt ing-edge education and profes-sional development resources for our members. As everyone knows, professional development is an ongo-ing process. The industry is con-stantly changing to keep up with new technology and economic pressures, so it is essential for hoteliers to be able to properly understand how to address the challenges that arise from our industry’s continually evolving landscape.

One of the ways that we have done this over the years is through our Certifi ed Hotel Owners (CHO) Program*. Since we began off ering it years ago, our CHO program has historically been very successful by allowing our members to sharpen their skills and knowledge.

HospitalityEducators.com revamped the CHO program last summer, and the feedback from our members about its new curriculum and structure has been overwhelm-ingly positive. In fact, one particular

att endee remarked that he didn’t want the experience to end. The fi ve-day program off ers nine distinct modules including:

• Leadership • Human resources • Marketing and sales • Front offi ce operations • Major support areas• Accounting • Technology • Legal issues • Hotel ownership

The AAHOA CHO program pro-vides practical and useful educational resources and gives our members a platform for successful implementa-tion. For example, members in an area who networked during one particular session used what they had learned to work together to investi-gate ways they could combine pur-chasing power regarding non-brand specifi c items such as waste pickup.

Finding real-life solutions to drive revenue is the main focus of the CHO program. With their refi ned expertise and the ability to work together with members in their area facing the same challenges with the same goals, CHO graduates are bett er prepared to ad-dress issues and excel.

At the end of the day, the most important thing that AAHOA can provide for our members is return on their investment. Professional de-velopment is a proven tool to achieve this return.

For more information on the AAHOA CHO program, please visit www.aahoa.com/cho. In addition to the CHO program, the 2013 AA-HOA Annual Convention will off er a dynamic selection of innovative educational seminars where industry, legal and economic experts will dis-cuss the hardest-hitt ing issues facing our industry and hotel owners. If you have not registered to join us March 26-29 in Houston, please make plans as soon as possible by visiting www.

aahoa.com/convention. As always, this will be a high-energy event that will pave the way for future success. So don’t miss out.

*Developed by Kapoor & Kapoor Hospitality, Inc.

Paving the Way for Future Success Through Professional Development

Fred Schwartz

President

AAHOA’s Certified Hotel Owners are better prepared to address issues and excel

Fred Letter1.indd 14 07/01/2013 15:27:54