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EVENTS CALENDAR
DoubleTree by Hilton
Hotel Bloomington
Training Forum
Hopsmith Tavern
1:00-4:00pm
October 21
W Chicago - City Center
8:00am-12:00pm
October 25
Hyatt Regency O'Hare
October 26
November 28
IHLAEF Holiday Online Auction Opens
December 6
ISPA 55th Annual
December 15
Sheraton Grand Chicago
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UNDER 30 GATEWAY
Are you 21-29 years old and employed at an IHLA member hotel? Then you need to connect with other young professionals of the Gateway! Membership is
free!
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IL-Women in Lodging
Not a member of I-WIL yet? Membership is
free
to any female employed by an IHLA member hotel.
To sign up, visit:
AHLA.com/WIL
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STAYGREEN
For questions about the StayGreen Program, contact: Karrie Teel.
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GUEST SERVICE GOLD
AHLEI Certified Guest Service Professional Designation (CGSP) Personalized Training
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IHLA 2016 OFFICERS
CHAIRMAN
Nabil Moubayed
VICE CHAIRMAN
Dean Lane
TREASURER
Tom Robertson
SECRETARY
Mark Lauer
PRESIDENT & CEO
Marc Gordon
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jenna Beyers
John Brooke, CHA
Mike Cassidy
Jerry Cataldo
*Mike Cohen
Brian Cooney, CHA
Kim Corrigan
Paul Daly
Darin Dame, CHA
Doug Dean
*Patrick Donelly
Mike Feigenbaum
Pierre-Louis Giacotto
Stefan Gruvberger
Kirsten Guill
*Bob Habeeb, CHA
Dan Hance
Chris Hansen
Rick Harmon
Patrick Hatton
Stacy Hinrichs
Greg Horeth
Steve Horve
Mark Huntley
Michelle Irvin, CHA, CFBE
David Jacobs
Fred Jones
Jerry Keyes
Tony Klok
Dean Lane
Mark Lauer
Damien McArdle
Dale McFarland
Michael McGilligan
Karen McGuigan
Ginny Morrison
Nabil Moubayed, CHA
Dan Naughton
Atul Patel, CPA, CHA
David Prentiss, CHA
Jeff Pritts
Tom Robertson
Jay Rosenthal
Peter Simoncelli
*Lisa Timbo
Tommie L. Van
Raymond Vermolen
*Ron Vlasic
Scott Warren
*John Wells
ALLIED DIRECTORS
Jim Buczek
Rich Cialabrini
Jim Donivan
Rick Simon
John Tomasiewicz
HONORARY DIRECTORS
*Dick Betty
*Ed Copeland
*Joan Geary
*Jim Gould
Arnie Karr
Mike Levy
*John Osmanski
*Rex Parker
*Gene Rupnik
Andy Schwebel, CHA
David Sowell
*Past Chairman
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September ends as a very busy month politically for IHLA and our hotel members. IHLA has been heavily involved in lobbying at all levels. We continue to monitor the rules promulgation and the implementation of the new Chicago Short Term Rental Ordinance that passed City Council in June and goes into effect in December. Many buildings in Chicago have already filed the paperwork to completely opt-out of allowing short term rentals in their buildings as soon as the law becomes effective in December.
We are very pleased that our efforts helped get the full tourism budget passed on June 30th that includes full funding for all convention and visitor bureaus in the state and the restoration of full funding for the Illinois Office of Tourism for FY2017. The passage of the full tourism budget means that Choose Chicago and every CVB across the state will be fully funded including a 12-13% increase over FY2016, and the Illinois Office of Tourism will once again have a full budget to market and promote Illinois tourism.
IHLA is also closely monitoring the Chicago and Cook County 2017 Budgets that will soon be unveiled. Our main focus is lobbying against new taxes and increasing existing taxes that will hurt the hotel industry. We are also working hard to fight Cook County's efforts to apply the County's Amusement Tax to regular television service in hotel rooms. After our meeting with President Preckwinkle and her Department of Revenue on June 29th, we followed up with a legal summary that showed that the County was in violation of federal law on this issue. Another meeting with the County should take place in early October to hopefully resolve this issue.
IHLA's political strength was enhanced once again on September 13th, when IHLA hosted our annual golf fundraising event to benefit our I.H.M.P.A.C. Chicago Dedicated Fund Account. The event was sold out and raised the incredible amount of more than $150,000 in net proceeds. For the seventh year in a row, this event raised between $120,000 and $155,000, totaling over $900,000 in net proceeds since 2010. These funds have allowed IHLA to significantly strengthen our voice in Chicago and Cook County politics. I want to again thank Pat Donelly for his leadership and dedication in making this event so successful, Rick Simon for once again donating his golf course to host the event, and all of our great hotel members and suppliers who supported this event.
September ended with IHLAEF & Chicago HEaT hosting the Risk Management & Security Symposium onSeptember 29th, at the Hilton Chicago. The Symposium featured several educational sessions and speakers discussing security, general liability, and HR issues that IHLA hotel members are currently facing. The afternoon included speaker Q&A, networking breaks, and a reception where attendees enjoyed appetizers and cocktails. All event proceeds will benefit the IHLAEF Scholarship Program. Thanks to the Hilton Chicago, our event speakers and sponsors, and to all of our hotel members who participated in this highly valuable program.
October is one of my favorite times of the year when IHLA has the opportunity to recognize and thank all of our "Stars of the Industry" who make our industry in Illinois truly "world class." This year we have once again received more than 600 nominations statewide in 11 categories. We look forward to saluting all of these outstanding employees and managers at our two upcoming regional recognition luncheons on October 19th in Bloomington and on October 25th in Rosemont.
Please be sure to join us for these wonderful events. To purchase tickets for the October 19th luncheon in Bloomington, please click HERE. To purchase tickets for the October 25th luncheon in Rosemont, please click HERE. For more information on both luncheons, please contact Jen Chase.
Best regards,
Marc
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Recent Articles of Interest
Connect with us on Social Media!
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Welcome New Allied Member
Valuation and advisory for the Hospitality and Gaming industries. A leading global real estate services firm that helps clients transform the way people work, shop, and live. Working in seamless partnership with their hospitality consultancy colleagues across the globe, their team of dedicated lodging professionals blends operational and capital markets expertise to deliver complete hospitality capital markets solutions. These include Asset-Level Financing, Investment Sales, and Equity Capitalization services to public, private and institutional owners and investors. They provide targeted advisory and a focused plan that will result in the achievement of your financing, investment or sales objective.
Days Inn Best of the Best Chairman's Award
 Congratulations to Joanne Gilkerson and her entire team at the Days Inn Oglesby/Starved Rock (12 year IHLA member) on receiving the 2016 Days Inn Best of the Best Chairman's Award! The award criteria was updated and made more difficult to achieve, but that didn't stop the team from meeting their goals, and the hard work paid off!
Homewood Suites by Hilton Champaign-Urbana & Horve Hospitality
 Congratulations to Kelly Thrasher-Jones on her new role as General Manager at Homewood Suites by Hilton Champaign-Urbana and to Jesse Hines on her new role as Regional Director of Operations for Horve Hospitality! Kelly was previously the property's Director of Sales and has a great deal of operational experience from her previous work in the restaurant industry. Jesse will be given the opportunity to oversee operations for all five, soon to be six, hotels in the Horve portfolio. IHLA looks forward to continuing our great relationship with Homewood Suites Champaign and Horve with this new team in place!
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ILLINOIS WOMEN IN LODGING
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5th Annual IWIL Children's Halloween Party & Costume Closet
W
ednesday, October 26, 2016
Illinois Women in Lodging and the Chicago Police Department are once again partnering for this fantastic annual event. Volunteer slots are filled, but several donations are still needed.
Donations Needed:
-Costumes for children ages 12 & under
-Larger sized Halloween t-shirts for teenagers
-Candy (Individually wrapped)
-Snacks & drinks
To Donate, Please Contact:
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STARS OF THE INDUSTRY 2016
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19th Annual Stars Regional Luncheons - Register Now!
Join us for our biggest events of the year: #IHLAStarsoftheIndustry! Don't miss the chance to celebrate the best of the best employees in the hospitality industry here in Illinois at our Stars Employee Recognition Luncheons. Show your appreciation for your outstanding team members and give them the opportunity to be recognized by their peers at an entertaining celebration they'll never forget. The stories of incredible hard work, dedication, and genuine kindness towards both guests and fellow colleagues are truly an inspiration!
10/19 CENTRAL ILLINOIS REGIONAL LUNCHEON -
REGISTER
10/25 CHICAGOLAND REGIONAL LUNCHEON - REGISTER
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Chicago Hotel PAC Golf Event
On September 13th,
under the organization and leadership of Patrick Donelly and his team from the Hyatt Regency, IHLA hosted the Annual Chicago Hotel PAC Golf Fundraiser at Tuckaway Golf Club in Crete. Once again, the event was sold out and raised more than $150,000 for our Chicago/Cook County I.H.M.P.A.C. Dedicated Fund. The funds raised will be dedicated exclusively for use in Chicago and Cook County Elections. Attendees enjoyed a great day of golf, beautiful weather, food & drinks, and many prizes. "I can't thank Patrick enough for all of his help in putting this fundraiser together, as well as all of the people who contributed and supported the event," stated Marc Gordon, IHLA President & CEO. "The event will provide us with the necessary resources to assure that IHLA is a major player in helping to shape the upcoming elections in Chicago for Mayor and City Council."
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Recent #StayGreenSpotlight Articles
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IHLAEF & Chicago HEaT Risk Management & Security Seminar
On September 29th, IHLA partnered with Chicago HEaT to host a Risk Management & Security Symposium at Hilton Chicago. The Symposium featured several educational sessions and speakers discussing security, general liability, and HR issues that IHLA hotel members are currently facing. Keynote speaker E. Reed Smith, gave a riveting presentation on critical lifesaving strategies to apply when faced with an active shooter emergency. For more information on Dr. Smith's tactics, visit c-tecc.org. For more information on the other speakers and presentations, contact Karrie Teel.
Congratulations to the Security Recognition Award winner, Van Thomas of Hilton Chicago. Van was recognized for his outstanding dedication and commitment to the safety of his property and guests and the loss prevention mission.
Special thanks to event partners, sponsors and presenters: Chicago HEat, Cook County Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (DHSEM), Hilton Chicago, Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care, CPD, FBI Chicago, Johnson & Bell Trial Lawyers, Laner Muchin, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, PSAV, Royal Cup Coffee & Tea, and SkyNet Security Systems.
Annual Holiday Online Auction
As we continue working to grow the IHLAEF Scholarship Program, we will be running our Annual Holiday Online Auction November 28 - December 5 on
BiddingforGood.com
. We are in need of the following:
-Hotel package donations (In or outside of Illinois) -Hotel restaurant and spa gift cards -Other donations such as dining gift cards, event/tour tickets, unique items & experiences Contributions will be promoted in various ways conveying the business's commitment to education and charitable community endeavors. Please consider donating a package or asking those in your network to donate an item. To donate, click HERE.
Be on the lookout for announcements once the auction goes live on November 28 (Cyber Monday) and don't miss your chance to bid on fantastic packages and get started on your holiday shopping!
Upcoming Educational Seminars
CHART Chicago Fall Regional Training Forum
 (Council of Hotel & Restaurant Trainers)
Best Practices in Employee Retention & Engagement
October 20, 2016 | 1:00pm-4:00pm
Hopsmith Tavern
Franczek Radelet Annual Hospitality Seminar: Compliance in Uncertain Times
 October 21, 2016 | 8:00am-12:00pm
W Chicago - City Center
Sessions Include:
-How the NLRB Continues to Turn Labor Law Upside Down & Inside Out
-The Overtime Game
-Employee Benefits Policy in the Wake of the 2016 Presidential Election
-HELRA Update
-Workplace Enforcement: Updates on DHS & DOJ guidance on the pre-hire, hiring, & I-9 processes
-Take this Job & Leave It!
Recognize Your Security Personnel
ISPA (Illinois Security Professionals Association)
55th Annual Holiday Awards Banquet
December 6, 2016
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
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