This Month, HFTP Spotlights Members Who Have Shared What HFTP Means to Them

The HFTP Connect blog features hundreds of posts that have been collected, researched, written and published for the purposes of continuing education and professional development for our hospitality finance and technology members who span the globe. And each month, we spotlight a different HFTP membership benefit that has been developed by the association to further this goal. Some of these benefits include the HFTP ProLinks Webinars, online Hangouts, Job Board, advisory councils, local chapters, professional certification programs, and HFTP-produced educational events, workshops, conferences and trade shows.

This month is a little different. In August, six months after the start of a global pandemic that has vastly changed the industry that HFTP exists to support, we want to take this opportunity to recognize a few of our members who have let us know what HFTP means to them and also let all our members know how much they mean to us. Without our members, we would not be the association that we are today.

Robert Mandelbaum
Director of Research Information Services at CBRE Hotels’ Americas Research | HFTP Global Finance Committee Member, HFTP Annual Convention Education Advisory Council Member

"HFTP provides access to industry professionals with a common interest. My area of specialization is hotel operations finance. By serving on the Global Finance Committee and the HFTP Annual Convention Education Advisory Council, I get to meet on a regular basis with hospitality industry finance professionals and listen to them discuss the unique challenges and opportunities they are facing in 2020. This helps guide my and CBRE’s efforts to provide information that addresses these critical issues."

Dr. Paul Willie, DBA, MBA, CHAE+, CHTP, CMA
Industry Professor, Author and Consultant | HFTP Education Advisory Council Member, CHTP Advisory Council Chair, Past Ontario Chapter President

"My HFTP membership and complementary involvement with the HFTP CHTP Advisory Council, as well as the Annual Convention Education Advisory Council, has been extremely enjoyable, helpful and informative. My HFTP colleagues who also serve on these councils have consistently provided me with an accurate and current pulse on the state of our industry. Consequently, I have a solid understanding of what steps and preemptive actions industry stakeholders are taking and what they are thinking about during this unprecedented pandemic. This valuable information all translates into a rich and robust resource that I can share with my students and embrace for use in current and future industry research."

Christopher Contos
Senior Account Executive at Evention, MBA Candidate |HFTP Young Professionals (YP) Advisory Council Chair

"My HFTP membership has allowed me to interact weekly through the online Hangouts. There, I am able to see what is going on with industry leaders and hearing about it firsthand on what will happen in our industry. Right now, I am committed toward personal projects. I want to look back on this time fondly as a period where I developed my skills, enhanced my network and worked hard to present value to the company that I work for.

"I am going back to school to get my MBA online at the University of Illinois. I am growing my leadership abilities as the chair of the HFTP Young Professionals (YP) Advisory Council. I am developing my collaborative skills as a board member of the HFTP Chicago Chapter. And I am setting daily tasks and goals for my work at Evention."

Paul West
Technical Consultant and Risk Management Advisory at GapSpot! Technical Solution Services | Read the recap from Paul’s moderated HFTP Hangout session in June >>

"It would be difficult to ignore the fact that my HFTP membership has kept me engaged with other hospitality professionals during the weekly HFTP Hangout sessions on Zoom [earlier this year]. Those meetings in turn then prompted me to reconnect with others that I found were also on the calls, but to whom I had not spoken in a very long time. Of course, I would much prefer to meet in person, but it is good for the soul to see everyone via video while actively working from their own remote locations. So, kudos to HFTP for bringing us all together from around the world multiple times each week!"

Brett Connor, CHAE
Director of Finance and Business Support at The Fairmont San Jose | Earned the HFTP USALI Theory Certificate in June 2020

"During these uncertain times, there is so much information to sort through and so many theories on what the future holds. It is difficult to know what information is reliable. HFTP has been a reliable source for me in the past and with all that “noise” out there, it is a resource I can continue to depend on during these unprecedented times. This situation has given our organization an opportunity to take a step back, evaluate our business and better plan for the future. It has also given us a chance to evaluate what the new “normal” could look like."...

HFTP Announces 2020 Paragon Award-winner: Ian Millar, CHTP

Millar was recently selected to receive the 2020 HFTP Paragon Award in recognition for his unwavering support of the association and substantial contributions to increase knowledge-sharing and promote growth in the hospitality industry at large, specifically amongst students and hospitality professionals within Europe. Millar is a senior lecturer of IT at EHL in Lausanne, Switzerland. He has been a member of HFTP for 15 years and served in multiple association leadership positions including as vice-chair of the HITEC Advisory Council and on the HFTP Global Board. Millar will be honored on October 29 during HFTP's Annual Business Meeting, held virtually. "It is an honor to be recognized by my HFTP and industry peers," said Millar. "It has been a pleasure being part of an organization whose interest is the improvement of the hospitality industry."

A Special “Thank You” From HFTP

Special thanks to Ian Millar, to the members who have shared their experiences with HFTP, and to all of the members who join HFTP and become part of an invaluable network of industry professionals who turn to HFTP and to each other to achieve their professional goals.