In 1991, HOTELS Publisher Don Lock asked readers a question: How many countries have you worked in? The responses he got – many, many responses, from all corners of the globe – turned into a community and then into a club: The Global Hoteliers Club.
Don, who is retired now, was kind enough to write a remembrance of that time and what became an elite community of hoteliers. Here’s what he said:
I became publisher of HOTELS magazine (then named Hotels & Restaurants International) in 1988. My goal was to position it clearly as the premier magazine for managers and owners of large, upscale hotels and hotel chains, worldwide. Part of this plan was to develop closer personal relationships with, and the respect of, industry leaders.
One day in 1989, I was speaking with Manfred Timmel, GM of the Peninsula Hotel in New York. I told him that I was fascinated with the life of a globe-trotting hotelier. At this time, Manfred was probably in his early 40s, yet he had already worked in New York, Manila, Singapore, Honolulu, Montreal, the Virgin Islands, Berlin, Stuttgart, Bermuda and Paris. He spoke four languages. This is a typical career path for a global hotelier.
He told me about his life, and I could see how passionate he was about his career. We agreed that the life of a global hotelier deserved more recognition and respect. I spoke with many more hoteliers about this and eventually wrote a column saying how fascinated I am with a profession that offers you the opportunity to drop into a new country, adapt to a new language, culture and customs, identify a new opportunity or problem, fix it and then do this over and over again throughout their career.
The response to this column was overwhelming. It was obvious that hoteliers were excited that someone finally gave them some recognition for the challenging lives they were leading.
So we launched the Global Hoteliers Club in 1991. It was limited to hoteliers and chain executives who had worked in a minimum of three continents. We published a directory each year and had a membership of about 1,000.
Our club members were delighted with the membership directory. A large percentage already knew each other personally or by reputation, but with criss-crossing careers, they often could not find each other. In an industry that relies on networking, the Global Hoteliers Club filled an urgent need.
The club was an important step toward HOTELS’ goal of increasing the recognition and respect of the leaders of the industry that we needed to become the premier magazine of the global hotel industry.
“One of the important functions of our magazine,” Don wrote in the June 1991 issue, “is to serve as a communication bridge for hoteliers, as they move from country to country.” That’s still true today, and HOTELS is pleased to serve this community of globe-trotting hoteliers.
Were you one of the many members of the Global Hoteliers Club? Please comment below, or email Managing Editor Barbara Bohn and let us know if you’re interested in writing a remembrance.