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IN THIS ISSUE
Communications
Member News
Summer Board Outing
Governmental Affairs
#IHLAStarsoftheIndustry
Super Golf Classic
Under 30 Gateway
StayGreen
Educational Foundation
EVENTS CALENDAR

August 16 
28th Annual Super
Harborside International
Golf Center

September 13 
Chicago Hotel PAC
Golf Event
Tuckaway Golf Club

September 15
IHLAEF Webinar 
11:30am-12:00pm

September 29
Hilton Chicago 
1:00pm-6:00pm

October 19
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington
 
October 20
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Collinsville - St. Louis
Collinsville, IL
 
October 25
Hyatt Regency O'Hare
 
December 15
Sheraton Grand Chicago

STRATEGIC PARTNERS
BRONZE SPONSORS






REGIONAL PARTNERS


FRIENDS 
stateLogo



VIEW ALLIED MEMBERS HERE
 
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!  

To sign up, visit:
AHLA.com/Gateway

Stay Connected in IL:
 
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

STAYGREEN

 

Not yet recognized as a StayGreen Hotel or TripAdvisor GreenLeader? Complete the online Questionnaire today. 

 

Learn more about the benefits of becoming StayGreen.

For questions about the StayGreen Program, contact: Karrie Teel.
GUEST SERVICE GOLD
 
AHLEI Certified Guest Service Professional Designation (CGSP) Personalized Training

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
IHLA STAFF

Chicago Office
 
Marc Gordon
President & CEO
MGordon@IllinoisHotels.org
 
Jennifer Chase
Managing Director, Events
JChase@IllinoisHotels.org
 
Susannah Flanner
Director of Membership/ Strategic Partnerships
SFlanner@IllinoisHotels.org

Mark Malayter
Controller
MMalayter@IllinoisHotels.org 

David Miller
Director of IT
DMiller@IllinoisHotels.org
 
Reggie Owens
Office Manager
Owens@IllinoisHotels.org
 
Karrie Teel
Director of Education & Communications
KTeel@IllinoisHotels.org
 
Springfield Office
 
Scott Dahl
Regional Director of Membership
SDahl@IllinoisHotels.org
 
Brenda Jo Jacob
Director of 
Governmental Affairs
BJacob@IllinoisHotels.org
 

 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Marc
July began with IHLA's newly hired Controller, Mark Malayter, CPA, taking over all accounting functions for IHLA. Mark replaced Ray Ranola, Accounting Manager, who retired on June 30th after 15 years with IHLA, and Terry Ross, CPA, who has prepared IHLA's monthly statements for more than 17 years. All of us at IHLA wish Ray and Terry the best of everything in the future. 

Also in July, IHLA's Educational Foundation Scholarship Committee interviewed 17 finalists on July 11th, and as a result, awarded a total of $47,500 in 2016/17 academic scholarships to 23 deserving students from Illinois. Each winner will receive a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $5,000 during the upcoming school year. Thanks to all of our IHLA members who helped our Educational Foundation raise the funds needed to help these deserving students receive 2016/17 scholarships.
 
August will be a busy month for IHLA highlighted by our 28th Annual Super Golf Classic, scheduled for August 16th at Harborside International. I hope all members will participate in this outstanding event. Please join us for great food and beverages, spectacular golf, and incredible giveaways of more than 220 golf related gift items, numerous hole contest prizes, wonderful raffles of cash, travel packages, and electronic items, and a variety of online auction items on which to bid. No golfer will go home without a nice gift. Please click HERE to purchase your foursomes and hole sponsorships.
 
Also in August, we are hosting our General Managers Breakfast Meeting on August 2nd aboard the Odyssey ship at Navy Pier. We will have the new President and CEO of Choose Chicago, David Whitaker, featured as our keynote speaker. David will share some of his plans for Choose Chicago during the upcoming year. Also speaking at the breakfast will be Ted Mandigo, who will present his Chicagoland hotel industry forecast for 2017. Ted's forecast will be very helpful to our hotel members as they prepare their budgets for next year.
  
Finally, Nominations for our 2016 Stars of the Industry program are due on August 17th. Please nominate all of your top employees in any or all of the eleven categories. This is a great way for you to give your employees industry recognition that costs you nothing. There are no nomination or other fees. All nominated employees are treated like winners and will be recognized at our Stars of the Industry recognition luncheons in October. Please submit your nominations  HERE .
 
Best regards, 
 
Marc 
 COMMUNICATIONS
Recent Articles of Interest

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Travel + Leisure: Best Hotels in Chicago
 
 
 
 

How to See Our Facebook Posts in Your Newsfeed

Want to make sure you're up-to-date on all of the important information that we share on our Facebook page? Here's how you can ensure that our posts pop up in your newsfeed so you'll have a front row seat to relevant industry articles, the latest info about upcoming IHLA events and programs, member news and accolades, and more!   
  1. Go to our "Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association" Facebook page
  2. Hover over the "Liked" button
  3. Click "See First" 

Connect with us on Social Media! 

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 MEMBER NEWS
Welcome New Allied Members

Mark Rasmussen | 312-206-3194
Ambius offers a complete range of design and plant services for interior business environments. Services include live and artificial plant displays, a complete office plant service, ambient scenting for work environments, commercial holiday decorations and living green wall design and installation.
 
Greg Wutzke | 312-221-5805
SONIFI Solutions, the leader in innovative guest engagement solutions for the hospitality industry, serves 500 million travelers in approximately 1.2 million hotel rooms annually. SONIFI's core services include: interactive television, mobility, guest Internet access, and free-to-guest (through DIRECTV®) along with unparalleled nationwide technical support and professional services.
 
Ravi Jadia | 847-882-8200
Full Suite of IT Solutions (CLEC): Voice, Data, Cloud & Managed Services, Point-to-Point & Optical Lit/Dark Fiber, MPLS/VPN Configurations, Global Managed Services. Vinakom offers Superior MPLS Managed Network and Engineering Services with multilayered QoS, Customized, Network solutions with Managed services, Network Reliability with high level of security, Structured Implementation Methodology, and One-Touch Customer Care. 

Magnificent  Mile Association 2016 Chicagoland Tourism Breakfast


On July 18 th , IHLA joined our friends at the Magnificent Mile Association along with Choose Chicago and the Illinois Restaurant Association for the 2016 Chicagoland Tourism Breakfast at The Peninsula Chicago. With over 200 industry leaders in attendance, Cory Jobe, Illinois Office of Tourism Director, shared his insights on growing domestic and international tourism in Illinois. He also presented the newest Illinois tourism campaigns including Illinois Made .  

IHLA SUMMER BOARD OUTING
IHLA Board of Directors & Strategic Partners Summer Reception 



On July 19th and 20th, IHLA Board Members and Strategic Partners met at the Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center for dinner, cocktails, and networking in the marquis tent. The evening moved outside to the gorgeous patio where guests enjoyed a live acoustic guitarist, putting green, and s'mores around the fire pit. Special thanks to GM Steve Elkington and the entire Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills team for hosting IHLA's summer Board meetings and events. IHLA also thanks reception sponsors: Response Team 1 and Royal Cup Coffee & Tea.  
 
Interested in sponsoring an IHLA Board of Directors Dinner Reception?
Contact Susannah Flanner for more information.
 
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
 

Renaissance Schaumburg Back of House Tour, Senator Laura Murphy



Earlier this month, General Manager and IHLA Board member, Lisa Timbo, along with her team hosted a Back of the House tour at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel for Senator Laura Murphy, from Illinois' 28th District. 

Back of the House Tours are a great way to "showcase" a property and have elected officials meet and visit employees and learn more about the important economic and social contributions of the hotel industry to the community and to the State.

Interested in hosting a Back of the House Tour at your property? 
Contact Brenda Jo Jacob for more information. 
STARS OF THE INDUSTRY 2016 NOMINATIONS
Submit Nominations for IHLA's 19th Annual Stars of the Industry
 
About Stars of the Industry : IHLA's Stars of the Industry Awards Program was established in 1996 to honor IHLA member hotel employees for their outstanding accomplishments, service, and leadership in the hospitality and lodging industry. Illinois has thousands of exceptional hotel and lodging employees who help our visitors enjoy their stay, and the Stars Program recognizes the best of the best, those who truly go above and beyond and whose incredible hard work, dedication, attentiveness, and genuine kindness towards both guests and fellow colleagues is an inspiration to their peers.
 
To honor the talent and performance of employees who go that extra mile to provide extraordinary service to their hotel guests, each year, awards are presented to individuals in 11* categories from IHLA member hotels in 4 regions: 
  • Chicago
  • Chicago Suburban
  • Central Illinois
  • Southern Illinois
IHLA hosts 4 annual Stars of the Industry events; 3 are in their 19th year with a 4th program added in 2016:
10/19:  Stars of the Industry Central Illinois Regional Luncheon
10/20:  Stars of the Industry Southern Illinois Regional Luncheon - NEW THIS YEAR!
10/25:  Stars of the Industry Chicagoland Regional Luncheon
12/15:  State Stars of the Industry & Membership Holiday Luncheon
 
*The Southern Illinois Regional Stars Program will present awards in 4 categories:
Hotelier, Guest Service, Housekeeping, Maintenance Employees of the Year
 
Participating in Stars of the Industry : We encourage all of our members to participate in this high profile employee recognition program; to nominate and show appreciation for your outstanding team members and give them the opportunity to be recognized by their peers at an entertaining celebration they will never forget. There is no cost to nominate an IHLA hotel member employee. 

 
Submit Nominations for your associates, managers, and directors PRIOR TO 8/17/2016!
 
SUPER GOLF CLASSIC
28th Annual IHLA Super Golf Classic
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Harborside International Golf Center
11001 S. Doty Ave. | Chicago, IL 60628
 

 
Event Includes:
-18-Hole Golf with GPS Carts | 12:00pm Shotgun Start
-Driving Range| Opens at 10:00am
-BBQ Lunch Buffet | 10:45-11:45am
-MillerCoors Beverages
-Steak Dinner with Top-shelf Reception | 5:00-7:15pm
-Awards, Entertainment, Grand Travel Raffle, Online Auction
-$100 Gift Giveaway Featuring Our Mobile Pro Shop
 
For questions, contact: Jennifer Chase
For customizable Golf & Sponsorship Packages, contact: Susannah Flanner
 

UNDER 30 GATEWAY

 
Under 30 Gateway Summer Networking at Raised



On July 21st, members of the Illinois Chapter of Under 30 Gateway gathered for an insiders tour of the recently renovated  Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel  and new  Raised rooftop bar, followed by a swanky evening of networking at Raised with ice breaker games, gourmet snacks, and a signature cocktail tasting. Special thanks to Renaissance Chicago GM, Hassan El Neklawy, for hosting this fantastic evening, and thanks to the IHLA Under 30 Committee and Co-Chairs: Sam Schwartz, First Hospitality Group Development Associate, and Amber Bertsch, Hotel Allegro Guest Experience Manager. 
 
STAYGREEN
   
 EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

IHLAEF 2016 Scholarship Recipients 
For the 2016-2017 academic year, the IHLA Educational Foundation awarded $47,500 in scholarships to 23 students studying Hospitality Management at 15 colleges in Illinois and across the country. We proudly announce our 2016 winners - Congratulations to these outstanding recipients and future hospitality leaders and thank you to our generous donors!
 

 
Christopher Demet - University of Nevada, Las Vegas         
Nicholas Demet - University of Nevada, Las Vegas 
Jasmine Dinkins - Johnson & Wales University - KeyLime Cove Scholarship
Megan Feeney - University of South Carolina - Kimpton Hotels of Chicago Scholarship
Caitlin Frech - Roosevelt University - Hilton Hotels of Chicago Scholarship
Sharon Harms - Kendall College - Constellation Scholarship
Daren Hooper - University of Missouri       
Matthew Korman - Cornell University         
Everett Lightle - Illinois State University - Wall Street Journal Scholarship
Tess McArthy - Eastern Illinois University - KeyLime Cove Scholarship
Kristine Mei - DePaul University    
Kenzie Mocogni - DePaul University          
Kendall Nathan - Iowa State University - J. Patrick Leahy Connoisseur Scholarship
Trenece Owens - DePaul University - Chicagoland Marriott Hotels Scholarship
Miranda Pearson - Eastern Illinois University          
Danielle Pinta - DePaul University - Hostmark Hospitality, Robert J. Cataldo Scholarship
Todd Pinta - DePaul University - Prominence Hospitality Group, Rana ZR. Scholarship
Ethan Reynolds - Culinary Institute of America       
Kevin Waterstreet - Northern Illinois University       
Lindsey Wehking - DePaul University - Hyatt Scholarship
Andrew Wurtz - Harper College - KeyLime Cove Scholarship
Paige Zimmerman - Purdue University      
Matthew Zyburt - Purdue University           

Complimentary IHLAEF Webinar
Refund Recovery Process for Illinois LCD Flat Panel Antitrust Settlement
Presented By Class Action Capital
Thursday, September 15, 2016 | 11:30am - 12:00pm CST


IHLAEF & Chicago HEat Risk Management & Security Symposium 
 

 
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Hilton Chicago | 720 S. Michigan Ave.
1:00pm Registration | 1:30pm Program | 5:00pm Reception

The 2016 Risk Management & Security Symposium will feature several educational sessions and speakers discussing security, general liability, and HR issues that IHLA hotel members are currently facing. The afternoon will include speaker Q&A and networking breaks then wrap up with a reception where attendees can mingle and enjoy appetizers and cocktails.

All event proceeds benefit the IHLAEF Scholarship Program.
 

Roosevelt Executive Master of Hospitality & Tourism Management


Roosevelt's Executive Master in Hospitality & Tourism Management NOW FULLY ONLINE: Starting in the fall of 2016, Roosevelt University is pleased to announce Chicago's first 12-month Executive Master in Hospitality and Tourism Management.
 
No need to interrupt your busy work week: The program's innovative online delivery allows busy executives to live, work and travel anywhere in the world while simultaneously completing their degree from a fully accredited highly recognized university. And the best part - you finish in just one year!
 
Designed for experienced hospitality professionals: As an experienced hospitality professional, the program's cutting edge curriculum is centered on the following focus areas: Human Capital Management, Executive Leadership, Strategy and Innovation, Financial Analysis, Marketing, Corporate Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship Technology.
 


Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association
P: 312-346-3135 | F: 312-346-6036

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