Table of Eight – November 2007 Meeting

It’s been awhile since I last visited the FIU campus in North Miami, so it was quite a treat to make the trek to their School of Hospitality and Tourism Management for our Chapter’s November luncheon meeting. Our New Orleans themed meal was planned, prepared and served by the students as a management training session. They received grades for their efforts and we got the benefit of a delicious repast. The tables were decorated and at every place setting was a colorful menu. Our meal included jalapeno corn bread followed by chicken sausage gumbo; a choice of two entrees: crawfish etouffee or cumin-roasted pork tenderloin; and dessert of bread pudding with bourbon sauce. It was interesting to hear where the students were from and a little bit about the program.

Meanwhile, my “table of eight” had some wonderful conversations. Nice to meet Rita Wells (Laffing Matterz), Heidi Richards (Eden Florist), and Hana Phillips (Rodeway Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport). Rita not only markets Laffing Matterz but also performs at this unique venue as well. We learned that some of their “grassroots” marketing uses radio, the Sun-Sentinel Showtime section, brochures with discount coupons distributed to the hotels, as well as by attendance at HSMAI meetings. Who knew that almost 175 people can fit comfortably on site? What a great place for our group business. Heidi Richards, “Chief Goddess” (don’t you just love her title!), Eden Florist and Gift Baskets, is really a one-man band. In addition to her marketing efforts on behalf of Eden she also writes several online newsletters and is active in numerous organizations. A great sales technique that she’s happy to share: she tries to go to a different meeting each week. She checks out the newspaper’s Monday business section and finds an event each week that she’s never been to before; being a “unique” business among the attendees means a lot more new contacts. What a great idea! Hana Phillips told us about the renovations at the Rodeway Inn on State Rd 84 which will include a brand new restaurant and a night club. The full service hotel will have its “official” grand opening in the near future. Hana was born in Israel, lived in England, and speaks a number of languages. She tells a fascinating story about her entrée into the hotel industry and about wearing hats (the “proper” attire to attend functions in England.) It was great, too, to have Steve Berman at our table. You may know of Steve from his previous tenure with Southern Audio Visual. Steve is now the Director of Sales and Marketing with Welcome Florida. Belated warm congrats Steve on your “new” job! We heard about his full service destination management company which seems to do almost everything from “A to Z”. Very interesting! Rounding out our table was Susan Stern (Hampton Inn) who heads up Community Service for our HSMAI chapter. In addition to hearing about her fantastic upcoming cruise through the Panama Canal (hope it was great Susan!), we got some more info on the Community Service Christmas Party happening on Wednesday, December 19th and benefiting the Broward Outreach Center. Gifts are still needed.

Well, this is getting a bit wordy, and I haven’t even begun to tell you about the thought-provoking seminar presented by FIU Professor Chikitan S. Dev. Some forty of us stayed after the luncheon for this educational portion. The topic was Hospitality Marketing Trends. The Professor outlined his “Top 9 List” of things that will affect the ways we do business in the next several years. I took copious notes – some great ideas to use and a lot of trends on which to begin working. But if you missed it, or wish to review the key points of the seminar, it is viewable on line, courtesy of Dan Strong and Media 17 at www.media17com/hsmai