Hotel & Motel Management - August 2008 - (Page 20) 20 Marketing Matters your property? They might— if they knew you. And the best way to introduce yourself (and your hotel) is to get involved at the local college or university. Whether your local school has a hospitality or tourism curriculum is not important. Focus on capturing the interest of these educated potential employees. Here’s how: Be a guest lecturer. Whatever your role, your expertise is welcomed by the professor and is a great change of pace for the students. Contact the dean or appropriate department chairperson, outline your expertise and explain how it might fit in with the goals of the class. Sponsor internships. Offer a paid semester-long internship for students. Make their experience more substantive, rather H&MM August 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Recruit students from your area colleges and universities IN THE details Find prospects nearby Get involved with colleges Set up scholarship funds Offer job opportunities By Thomas F. Cannon H&MM Columnist “ N othing but low-paying jobs” has been a mantra associated with the hospitality industry for years, especially among college students. So why would any college student consider working at than filled with menial tasks. Outline clearly what they will be doing and let them know you expect them to be a contributor. Students talk to other students just like your customers. Fund scholarships. A college degree is not cheap—just one textbook can cost more than $100, on top of tuition, fees, rent, gas and lots of pizza. Establish a scholarship in the name of your hotel or, better yet, an endowment in which interest will provide scholarships in perpetuity. Make a lunch date. Invite any interested professor, program adviser or sharp student to your local hotel association’s monthly luncheon. Your guest will benefit from the networking experience, and the hotel industry will have spawned an enthusiastic spokesperson. Offer jobs. Students need jobs while in school—even entry-level positions. Work with their class schedules, and you’ll have a loyal employee for several years, potentially even after their graduation. Offer work-related incentives, appropriate pay increases, increasingly more responsibility and training to demonstrate that you not only value them but also are investing in them. Talk with them about “next steps” if they opt to stay with your hotel and what they can expect after they graduate. If you do not have a management trainee program, create one. Send your job listings to the university’s career service office. Assign your best representative to attend career fairs. Partnering with a university not only benefits your hotel and the students, but it will enhance the image of the hotel industry and you will be an important contributor to the workforce development of your community. hmm@questex.com Dr. Thomas F. Cannon is chair of the HSMAI Advisory Board of the Sales and Marketing Faculty SIG and the director of the Tourism Management Program in the College of Business at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He can be reached at thomas.cannon@utsa. edu or (210) 458-3111. Events © 2008 HEI Hotels & Resorts Aug. 9-12 Council of Hotel & Restaurant Trainers Hospitality Training Conference: Gaylord National, Washington, D.C. www.chart.org. Sept. 17-18 HD Boutique Exposition and Conference: Miami Beach (Fla.) Convention Center. www.hdboutique.com. Aug. 19-20 6th Annual Memphis Lodging Industry Summit: Memphis Cook Convention Center, Memphis. www.mmhla.com. Sept. 17-19 Settle Inn & Suites, GuestHouse International and Shoney’s Inn National Owners Conference: Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Nashville, Tenn. (920) 830-3673 Hit your career ceiling? Join the fastest growing hotel owner/operator. Aug. 21 American Hotel & Lodging Assn. HotelPAC Hospitality Golf Tournament — The Broadmoor Classic: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo. www.ahla.com. Sept. 22 The STARoundtable Hospitality Recruiting & Staffing Leadership Academy: University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Orlando. www.staroundtable.com. HEI has created a fast-track development program for the best of the best with select or full service hotel experience who want to move forward rapidly in their career. Sept. 7-10 American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation Golf Classic: La Quinta (Calif.) Resort & Club. www.ahla.com. Sept. 23-28 The Lodging Conference: The Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix. www.thelodgingconference.com. Explore fresh opportunities at heihotels.com/fasttrack Sept. 10-11 HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings: National: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. www.affordablemeetings.com. Sept. 24-26 IHG annual conference: Los Angeles. www.ihg.com. NOTE: For a complete list of events, visit www.HotelMotel.com. Fax events to (216) 706-3711 or e-mail them to ccrowell@questex.com. Creating a legacy as the leading hospitality owner/operator heihotels.com CIRCLE NO. 134 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://heihotels.com http://www.hdboutique.com http://www.chart.org http://www.mmhla.com http://www.ahla.com http://www.staroundtable.com http://www.thelodgingconference.com http://www.ahla.com http://heihotels.com/fasttrack http://www.ihg.com http://www.affordablemeetings.com http://www.HotelMotel.com http://heihotels.com
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