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IH&RA 39th Annual Congress Marks New Era for the Global
Hospitality Association; New Membership Structure,
Business Plan and Board of Directors
to Lead IH&RA in 2003 
Paris, France November 25, 2002...Around 100 international hospitality executives from 30 countries representing North America, Latin and Central America, the Middle East, Western and Eastern Europe and the Asia Pacific attended the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) 39th Annual Congress held in New York City, 8-11 November, 2002.  This Congress served as the platform to announce major changes to the membership structure of the 55-year old association, and to unveil the 2003 Business Plan and new Board of Directors. 

Following the IH&RA Annual General Assembly held during the Congress, IH&RA members unanimously voted that the Association should focus on two core membership categories: national hotel and restaurant associations (�NACE�) and international and national hotel and restaurant Chains.  IH&RA currently counts approximately 30 national and international chain members representing over 40 brands, and 80 national associations representing over 100 countries. 

A �Chains Council� of CEOs from international and national hotel and restaurant chains met for the first time at the IH&RA Congress to discuss strategy and set policy for the Association�s monitoring and lobbying activities on behalf of the Chains.  NACE members also met and agreed to form regional satellites to comprise hospitality Associations in North America, Latin/Central America, Europe, Middle East/Africa and Asia Pacific in order to facilitate communication between NACE members and IH&RA.  Regional NACE meetings will be held at least once a year to review IH&RA lobbying activities, as well as prioritise topics of regional and global concern to the industry.  Like the Chains Council, the �NACE Council� will make recommendations to the IH&RA from the Association point of view. 

Working at the international level, IH&RA focuses its activities on monitoring and lobbying the UN and its agencies and the other inter-governmental organisations whose work directly or indirectly impacts the hospitality and wider tourism industry.  IH&RA is formally recognised as an accredited Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) by ECOSOC and has close and long-standing ties with a number of agencies, specifically the WTO (World Tourism Organisation), UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), ILO (International Labour Organisation) and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organisation).  IH&RA�s views and participation are regularly sought by these agencies which only invite representation from recognised institutional partners.  Some of the critical issues being monitored and lobbied by IH&RA are: 

  • Traveller Safety and Security: IH&RA lobbies via the World Tourism Organisation Tourism Recovery Committee to increase recognition of the hospitality industry�s concern in response to recent world events, the drastic effects these events have on the industry, as well as elicit more support from international organisations and national governments. 
  • Food Safety and Security:  IH&RA supports the work of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and recently issued a report on �Food Safety Activities of International Organisations� which cites measures taken to ensure food safety and security, as well as traceability and limits of accountability for hospitality establishments, the last link in the food-to-table supply chain.
  • GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services): IH&RA is closely monitoring the World Tourism Organisation�s proposal that tourism should be covered by a separate annex to the GATS.
  • Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development: Working with UNEP, IH&RA actively promotes sustainable tourism in the international hospitality industry.  IH&RA also monitors the growing call for corporate social accountability and is consulting with members as to acceptable indicators and benchmarks. 
  • Human Resources and the Flexibility of Working Conditions: Through observer status at ILO (International Labour Organisation), IH&RA opposes restrictive employment conventions and favours the flexibility of working conditions in the industry. Recently, on the initiative of IH&RA, the Board of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) Business Council also decided to examine in greater detail the huge demand for qualified staff throughout the world. 
During the IH&RA Congress, a new 2003 IH&RA Board of Directors was elected: 

President re-elect: Eric E. Pfeffer, President Pfeffer Group and International Hospitality Consultant, La Quinta Inns & Suites and Cendant Corporation 
Vice-President: John Bell,  Executive Vice President, Caribbean Hotels Association 
Secretary re-elect: Abraham Rosental, Director General, Israel Hotel Association 
Treasurer re-elect: Joseph E. Spinnato, President, Hotel Association of New York City  Past-President: Ejnar Söder, CEO, Nordic Hotels, Stockholm Sweden 
Chairman of National Associations Re-Elect: Anthony Pollard, President, Hotel Association of Canada 

IH&RA CEO: Alain-Philippe Feutré 

Chairman of Chains Council: to be appointed by Chains Council 

National Hospitality Association Representatives to the Board: 

Grant Bowie, Australian Hotel Association: Sr. Vice President - Australia & General Manager, Conrad Jupiters 
Florian Hew, Director GastroSuisse Switzerland 
Miguel Torruco Marques, President Mexican Hotel Association 
Kasim Zoto, Turkish Hotel Association (TUROB): General Manager Hotel Armada, Istanbul 

Appointed by the Board - National Association representing the Restaurant Sector: 
Bruce C. Cotton, National Restaurant Association, U.S., Vice President Cracker Barrel Old Country
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Appointed by the Board - Worldwide Partner Representative: 
Hans Lindh, Director, Head of Hotel & Restaurant Industries Europe/Africa/Middle East, American Express Establishment Services Group

Chains Representatives to the Board: 

Stan Bruns, Senior Vice President International Lodging, Marriott International 
Jean-Paul Herzog, Vice President Hilton International Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria 
Hervé Houdré, Chief Operating Officer, Kempinski Hotels & Resorts 
Anupam Narayan, Senior Vice President Global Strategy & CFO, Best Western International 
James Olsen, Senior Vice President International Development, Carlson Hospitality Worldwide 

Appointed by the Board - Independent Operators Representative:
Mats Östblom, Managing Director, Hotel Liseberg Heden, Göteborg, Sweden 
 

The 2002 IH&RA Congress, sponsored by American Express Establishment Services and Horwath Consulting, was held alongside another major industry event, the 87th Annual International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS), jointly produced by IH&RA members, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the New York State Tourism & Hospitality Association and the Hotel Association of New York City.  The concurrent positioning of these two events resulted in a synergistic forum where IH&RA Congress delegates could network with some 50,000 industry operators and  suppliers present at the IH/M&RS tradeshow.  Congress delegates also participated in the IH&RA-sponsored �International Day� and a full Educational Program of more than 40 seminars. 

IH&RA�s 40th Annual Congress will be held in Cairo, Egypt in the autumn of 2003.  Originally, the 39th Annual Congress had been scheduled to take place in Cairo in 2001, but was postponed following the tragic events of September 11.  IH&RA moved the location of this Congress to New York City in 2002 in a show of industry support and solidarity to the city of New York and to IH&RA members in the United States. 

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is a network of international and national hotel and restaurant chains and national hotel and restaurant associations in more than 100 countries.  Its mission is to protect, promote and inform the hospitality industry worldwide.  Through its membership network, IH&RA represents an industry of 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants which employ 60 million people and contribute 950 billion USD annually to the global economy.

Contact:
Summer Jauneaud
Tel: (33 1) 44 89 94 00
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.ih-ra.com
Also See: The International Labour Organization Addressing the Problem of International Mobility of Workers In Hotel, Catering and Tourism Sector / May 2001
Eric E. Pfeffer Elected President of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association for 2002; Previously Served as President in 1998 / December 2001


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