Mr. Gilbert

Robert Gilbert

President & CEO

Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association Int. (HSMAI)

For the last decade, Bob Gilbert has been guiding HSMAI through an exciting period of change. At the helm of what has become the definitive hospitality and travel marketing association in the world, he has made tremendous strides and enjoyed great successes as he’s worked to establish HSMAI as the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry.

During his tenure, HSMAI has launched a number of initiatives. In keeping with its overall objective to create relevance for its members and to be a vital information source for the industry at large, HSMAI has created Special Interest Groups (SIG) in five key industry segments: Travel Internet Marketing; Revenue Management; Resort Marketing; Hotel Director of Sales & Marketing and Sales and Marketing Faculty. Each SIG is strategically focused on the needs and concerns of its individual discipline and constituency, and reaches out to educate and inform its members through initiatives such as strategy conferences, webinars and publications. Furthermore, under Mr. Gilbert’s guidance HSMAI has strengthened its chapters worldwide, with presence now in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia/Pacific.

Prior to joining HSMAI in 1995 (in an executive capacity), Mr. Gilbert was the vice president of marketing for Richfield Hospitality Services, Inc., at the time, the largest hotel management company in the world, where he oversaw the corporate marketing support for all Richfield hotels, which included product from every price tier in the industry.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and has been a member of HSMAI since joining the student chapter at Cornell. He is a frequent guest lecturer at the School and is on the adjunct faculty of the summer executive education program. Mr. Gilbert serves on the Board of Directors of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and the Convention Industry Council (CIC), is on the HITEC Advisory Council, and is also on the Board of Trustees for the World Tourism Foundation as well as the Travel and Tourism Coalition of the Travel Industry Association of America.

Mr. Gilbert can be contacted at 703-506-3280 or bgilbert@hsmai.org

Coming Up In The March Online Hotel Business Review

"Hotel Business Review offers weekly articles for hotel management and operation and discussion on emerging growth markets."
Feature Focus
Hotel Human Resources: The Biggest Challenges
The economic challenges of the past four years have led many hotel companies to re-examine the ways in which they do business and how they deploy talent. In many cases, the work did not go away and fewer people were left to carry on the tasks that had previously been shared among many. As we work our way out of the recession and look forward to a healthier economic environment, there is an understanding that despite recovering business levels, we may never see the return of former staffing levels. This "new norm" of operating with leaner teams has led Human Resources professionals and people managers to look at career development and growth opportunities in a new light. The March Hotel Business Review will take a look at some of the strategies being used by successful hotel brands, and techniques human resource directors are currently exploring.
INSIGHTS FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS BY INDUSTRY LEADERS
"The Four Habits of Highly Effective Human Resources"
By James Bermingham, Vice President, Montage Hotels
"Embassy Suites 'The Circle of Leadership"
By Darci Riesenhuber, Director of Brand Culture, Embassy Suites Hotels
"Applying Consumer Marketing Best Practices to Employee Loyalty"
By Fred Bendana, Executive Director Client Services, Maritz Loyalty & Motivation
"How Incentives are Changing to Keep Existing Staff Motivated?"
By Jim Houran, Partner, HVS Executive Search
PLUS: Mobile Technology - Attracting & Retaining Top Talent - Education - Employee Engagement - Employment Claims & Litigation - Employment Contracts - HR Management.