AAHA Monthly News & Updates
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Our Mission
Working alongside our hospitality partners to communicate the impact of the hospitality and tourism industry and encouraging the high standards of professional conduct among all people engaged in the hospitality industry.
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Letter from the President
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It is already February and the excitement of spring break and Fiesta is only weeks away—are you ready? Our fundraising committee is planning for our Viva Family Fun Fest and membership and external family support is vital to our success. It is important to note that the Fiesta Commission will be present to monitor our event this year and they will decide if it becomes an official event for next year.
Last month I mentioned that “we all play a role and the result of our efforts and influences are both seen and heard” in our community. The Family Fun Fest is our spring fundraising event and it has done well in the past, but it is capable of so much more. It would be amazing to go into our 25
th
year with an official Fiesta Event as a piece of AAHA History and notable successes.
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One of comments made often by AAHA members is about the importance of how we give back and support our community.
We have helped dozens of charities over the years not to mention the monies given to support education at local schools, colleges and universities. Our fundraising and community outreach continues to expand its reach every year because of you…our members. Your support has help AAHA achieve incredible milestones.
During the January Board Retreat, I shared some of my notes from a book called, “The Game of Inches” by Nigel Collin. I met Collin this past summer and was inspired to read his book. There are many great points in the book that lead to success and innovation, one improvement at a time. One of the important points at the center of ones efforts and it most significantly affects results are “know why”. According to Collin (2016), knowing why gives you a sense of purpose and direction in life. It gives you that extra impetus; it spurs you to go the extra mile, to do things a little bit better, and keeps you on track when things get tough. Our fundraising and community outreach has many accomplishments and this year we have a chance to raise the bar with Viva Family Fun Fest. We need your support.
If you can help with silent auction items and/or an interactive exhibit experience, please connect with Charlie who is our Fundraising Chair. We welcome this from our members as well as non-members—if outside support is needed. Joining the association helps in many additional ways that continuously support our efforts all year.
Thank you in advance for your continued support of our association. Special thanks to Laurie Rush Photography who took my new photos for the Newsletter. See more of her work at
www.larush.photography
.
Chris Koval
2019 President
Alamo Area Hospitality Association
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NACE / San Antonio Weddings
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The San Antonio Riverwalk
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Howl At the Moon & Merkaba
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We have a new opportunity within our Marketing Department as a
Business Development Specialist
. The team is seeking a person who is great at multi-tasking and communicating. Problem solving and working with a team are key traits one should possess. Experience using a CRM application (Salesforce preferably), has e-commerce sales experience and has a solid technical aptitude is strongly encouraged to apply.
Internal candidates should apply and submit a resume by logging onto
portal.adp.com
and selecting “Internal Career Center”
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Recently engaged?
Hotel Valencia Riverwalk
takes great pride in making sure that your wedding day is as memorable, and as unique as you are. We would love to customize your experience and bring your vision for your big day to life!
Hotel Valencia Riverwalk is the ideal location for your wedding event. We can accommodate the intimate wedding group beautifully as well wedding groups as large as 120 in our beautiful ballroom overlooking Houston Street. Our courtyard is the perfect spot for any ceremony! When you book your wedding event at Hotel Valencia Riverwalk, be assured that you will experience exceptional customer service and personalized attention to every detail to make your dream wedding come true. What’s more, all of Hotel Valencia Riverwalk’s spaces feature windows to let in the natural light. Our ideal location on the more tranquil part of the River Walk offers your attendees a relaxed and comfortable setting. We can even offer overnight accommodations for your guests. Please contact Shelly Cantu at
scantu@valenciagroup.com
for more details, we would love the opportunity to show you our spaces.
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Artemisia's at St. Philip's College
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Artemisia's is a classroom-restaurant of the Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts (THCA) department at St. Philip's College. It features various groups of students who collaborate to prepare, coordinate and serve meals of various styles and cuisines. Venture up the stairs in the Campus Center and see what our students are preparing!
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2019 New AAHA Board Members
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Thank you to the AAHA members who attended the October luncheon at Range to cast their votes! The ballots have been tallied and we are proud to announce the new 2019
Alamo Area Hospitality Association
Board Directors. It is a true honor to welcome these members to the AAHA team and congratulate them on their new positions within the organization.
Community Outreach:
Ashley Verzijl
, Hard Rock Café
Registration:
Debbie Arnold
, Holiday Inn Downtown Market Square
Website & Social Media:
Monica Nicole Vargas
, Ripley Entertainment
Fundraising:
Charlie Young
, Caprice Productions
Treasurer:
Alex Amaro
, Phillips Entertainment
2019 Vice-President:
Rebecca Newman
, Institute of Texan Cultures
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AAHA will move to a rolling membership calendar beginning January 1, 2019 and membership approved the addition of a new board position for
Director of Student Engagment.
AAHA is
now accepting nominations
and will hold a special election to fill this new vacancy aimed at encouraging more involvement from local high schools and universities with programs that develop hospitality industry peers and future leaders.
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February Member Luncheon - Morton's The Steakhouse
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It’s Lunchtime with AAHA! Make plans to attend our February Luncheon at Morton’s The Steakhouse, inside The Shops of Rivercenter Mall. Your mouth will water when you see the delicious steak options and sides being served up just for us. Plus, come and learn about the new San Antonio Football Team, the SA Commanders. Who knows, you might even win tickets to an upcoming game during our fishbowl! — at
Morton's The Steakhouse
.
WHEN: Thursday, February 21, 2019
TIME: 11:30a-1:00p
Morton's The Steakhouse
300 E. Crockett Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205
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February After Hours Mixer - Walk On's Bisteaux and Bar
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As they say in NOLA, Laissez les bons temps rouler! Join AAHA as we get into the Mardi Gras spirit at Walk On'sBisteaux and Bar. Enjoy loaded Cajun queso, boudin balls, boom boom shrimp, a specialty cocktail, and much more at our first AAHA After Hours mixer of 2019. This event is FREE to attend, so feel free to bring a friend!
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Walk On'sBisteaux and Bar (Huebner Location)
11075 IH10 West
San Antonio, TX 78230
Click on the link below to register!
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A recap of a great start of the year at our January Luncheon!
Congrats to all the A-List Winners
🎉
What an honorable job you have displayed for our city of San Antonio and community! All members can to be an A-List Winner for 2019 by hosting, being a member, and just being awesome at what you do! Congratulations Winners!
We also want to Thank Dave & Busters Rivercenter for Hosting at your nice and entertaining venue
.
Thank you also for all who gave sponsorships to our Fishbowl!
Our fishbowl is A LOT of fun and is a great way to give back to our future generation of students in the San Antonio Community and share what your business has to offer. Thank you all for your support: Hard Rock Cafe, SA Missions, Extreme Escape, Caprice, Holiday Inn Market Square, Dave & Busters, Howl At the Moon, Tasty Bites, June Bratcher,
#SAClimateReady
, UTSA Institute of Texan Culture, and Barriba!
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CALL TO ACTION
Speakers for U of H Needed
U of H just started their new fall semester and are interested in creating a Speakers Call List for when they would need speakers for the classroom and outside projects.
The goal is for you to tell your story. Students are inspired to hear how you found your way in our industry. If interested in being a speaker for U of H please send your bio, headshot and current contact information to Molly Hernandez (Secretary of AAHA).
Molly Hernandez
619.861.4364
mnhernandez@therkgroup.com
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Got News?
We would love to help you highlight what's going on at your business. Please send us anything you would like us to include by the last week of the month to be included in the next month's newsletter.
Here are some ideas of content to send to our Newsletter Director
Tim Lippard
:
• Promotions, new employees, retirements, etc.
• Announcements about your staff for our "Awards and Accolades"
• Updates on new attractions, products, and hotels, or new additions to existing ones
• Events that visitors should attend
One of our favorite things is getting to share all the news and updates happening with our members, so let us hear from you. Remember, your deadline is COB on the last Friday of the month to be included in the next month's newsletter. Also, please note. If your event is in the early part of the month, you may want to consider having your post ready and published a month early when possible. Below is the "projected" date of publishing the newsletter for the remainder of the year.
Please submit your newsletter submissions in a finished format; either PDF, PNG or JPG with complete information contained in the email. Thank you.
TENTATIVE Newsletter Publishing Schedule for 2019
January - January 14, 2019
February - February 10, 2019
March - March 4, 2019
April - April 8, 2019
May - May 6, 2019
June - June 3, 2019
July - July 8, 2019
August - August 5, 2019
September - September 2, 2019
October - October 7, 2019
November - November 4, 2019
December - December 2, 2019
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Join or Renew Your 2019 Membership
As of December 31st all 2018 AAHA Memberships officially expired.
We are now accepting 2019 memberships. As a member, you enhance your position in your company and within the community.
Exclusive benefits to AAHA Members include:
- Invitations to monthly luncheons featuring informative and educational speakers
- Discounted $30 member luncheon rate
- Enhance relationships with theme parks, lodging, attractions, cultural sites, restaurants & retailers
- Receive the current Alamo Area Hospitality Association Membership Directory upon request via e-mail
- Get your company featured in the newsletter and on social media
- Receive invitations to special events throughout the year
For a full list of member benefits please visit the membership page on our website
here
.
If you cannot pay online and require a personalized 2019 Membership Invoice, please send an email to our Treasurer, Alex Amaro at
treasurer@alamoareahospitalityassociation.com
. Please include your name, company name and method of payment to be included on the Membership Invoice.
If you ARE able to pay online using the Membership link, please do not request a personalized 2019 Membership Invoice as your receipt will be emailed to you automatically upon completion of your registration.
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AAHA Newsletter Update for 2019
We're looking to increase the readership of our newsletter. In January of 2018, we had a 24% open rate and a 9% click rate. Our monthly newsletter is the primary means we have to get a large amount of information to each of you. Our goal was to increase the readership and interactive nature of our monthly content.
For the entire year, we ended up with an average Open Rate of 30%, up 6% from the beginning of the year. We increased the interaction within the newsletter by almost double from previous efforts. Thank you all for that effort.
Newsletter Open Statistics (January 2019)
January 2019 - 36% Opened, 15% Clicked On
Newsletter Open Statistics (December 2018 - Jan 2018)
December 2018 - 34% Opened, 12.2% Clicked On
November 2018 - 34% Opened, 11% Clicked On
October 2018 - 34% Opened, 11% Clicked On
September 2018 - 37% Opened, 12.5% Clicked On
August 2018 - 30% Opened, 25% Clicked On
July 2018 - 40% Opened, 25% Clicked On
June 2018 - 28% Opened, 12% Clicked On
May 2018 - 28% Opened, 11% Clicked On
April 2018 - 23.1% Opened, 12.2% Clicked On
March 2018 - 23.1% Opened, 12.2% Clicked On
February 2018 - 25.4% Opened, 11.8% Clicked On
January 2018 - 24% Opened, 9% Clicked On
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GET SOCIAL WITH AAHA SOCIAL MEDIA!
What can you do right now?
- Like us on Facebook - AAHA Facebook Page (922 likes) +10
- Follow us on Instagram - AAHA Instagram Page (507 followers) +8
- Follow us on Twitter - AAHA Twitter Page (1,657 followers) -1
- Follow us on LinkedIn - AAHA LinkedIn Page (527 members) -1
- Remember to TAG us with the hashtags #AAHAMoment and #AAHAGivesBack
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Alamo Area Hospitality Association
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