From the desk of
Rob Fulton, CEO
Onward and Upward….
The Board of Directors had a fantastic board meeting this past week, with two full days of discussion. It gave us an opportunity to talk about the first six months of this year, evaluate where we are as an organization and where we need to be by the end of this year and into the future. By the end of our meeting on Wednesday night we were able to put the final touches on AIHP’s strategic plan, which I will be sharing with you in the coming weeks.
I did want to share with you a few of my take aways from last week!
AIHP Delivers on Trip Advisor – We heard your concerns. AIHP coordinated a call to action meant to rally our members around the concerns with Trip Advisor’s new mobile app and mobile website. Our members made coordinated calls and we are seeing the positive result of our efforts. Members are hearing from Trip Advisor that these issues are being addressed. We sent a letter outlining our concerns and offering recommendations. I talked to my contact last week and was assured our voice was heard and that the changes we want to see are being addressed. We will keep up our presence to make sure that we achieve the results that our industry needs. While talking about these issues, AIHP was also able to talk about other ways that our association can form a partnership with Trip Advisor to have a stronger presence and voice.
AIHP Delivers on B&B For Vets - As many of you already know, since 2010 hundreds of B&B’s and inns across the United States and Canada have offered active duty military and veterans free lodging for one night on or around Veteran’s Day in the B&Bs for Vets program, considered the largest lodging-based program in the country to thank veterans. This program was started by Kathleen Panek, a West Virginia Innkeeper, who appropriately named the effort B&Bs for Vets. The Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals (AIHP) has agreed to again this year manage, coordinate and publicize the B&Bs for Vets program to honor our hard working military. See the attached letter for more information. We would ask our Allied Partners to also share this information with their clients and contacts in the innkeeping industry.