IH&RA Expanding Membership to Independents
Reaching out to the 'grassroots' of the Industry: IH&RA expands Membership to Independents
FEBRUARY 22, 2007. The Board of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association decided at its meeting held in Washington in January to expand membership of the Association to Independent hotel operators & hotel owners. This move came as part of the new strategic plan for the Association announced by IH&RA President Dr Ghassan A"idi.
Alongside measures designed to streamline the functioning of the Association, Dr A"idi emphasized the importance of expanding the IH&RA membership base by opening up the Association to new categories of Members, specifically Independent Hotel Operators and Owners.
By adding direct IH&RA membership to their membership of their national association, Independent operators and owners will profit doubly from the IH&RA. They will have the benefit of representation through the IH&RA NACE - National Association Chief Executive - Council which debates major issues of concern to the industry such as standards, hotel classification, taxation and copyright issues. In addition, by joining up, they will now be able to participate directly in the life of the Association: its networking, communication and on-line facilities including access to all the resources of the Members-Only part of the IH&RA website. As direct Members they will be listed in the Members Directory, an indispensable resource for contacting leading hotel and restaurant executives around the world - and for leveraging opportunities to promote their operations to potential customers, suppliers and investors around the globe. Independents will be further empowered by having their own Representative on the IH&RA Board, ensuring that their 'voice' is heard loud and clear by the Association's policy-making body.
'I feel it is essential to draw the grassroots of our industry back into the Association' said Dr A"idi on the conclusion of the meeting. 'As the only global business organization representing the hospitality industry worldwide, our aim is to be as inclusive as possible to give even more weight to our Voice at the international level.'
The International Hotel & Restaurant Association is the only global business organisation representing the hospitality industry worldwide. Its members are national hotel and restaurant associations throughout the world, and international and national hotel and restaurant chains representing some 50 brands. Officially recognised by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry, estimated to comprise 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants, employ 60 million people and contribute 950 billion USD annually to the global economy.
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