Record attendance at AHLA’s Lake Louise convention

LAKE LOUISE, AB—This year’s 88th annual Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association conference attracted a record 625 delegates to the classic Chateau Lake Louise from April 6—8, 2008. It was the first time the conference has been held at the Chateau, which recently added a large conference wing.

A new “branding” for the octogenarian association, a shorter format with the Annual General Meeting up front, and introduction of Doug Shandro of the Best Western City Centre in Edmonton as the new chair were some of the features of this year’s meeting.

The branding changes arose because the AHLA had grown and amalgamated with many other organizations; because the hotel industry had grown to a billion dollar industry in Alberta in 2007; and because ownership and management in the province had undergone a fundamental change.

“In 2007, we saw a need to renew our brand,” AHLA president and CEO Dave Kaiser told convention delegates. “Last year we began interviews with a consultant, our board and staff regarding their perceptions of our association. The result is a compelling story.”

“We represent 85 per cent of the hotel rooms in the province, and we want to improve our members’ bottom line,” is part of the message.

The branding includes four pillars:

1. Government relations – collaboration of ideas. We are a powerful force and our views matter. We work with the government and not against it.
2. We give the best value for essential services.
3. Human resources development – we help our members find, develop and keep staff.
4. Tourism marketing – quality assurance, the Canada Select program, print and online publications are all part of this pillar.

The association’s new slogan is: “Inspiring Service, Growing Value.”

But while the conference theme was “inspiring service”, the environment rivalled this topic as the theme of the three-day meeting.

Ray Anderson, founder 35 years ago of Interface, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of carpet tiles, was keynote speaker at the conference. Anderson has been hailed as one of the world’s most environmentally progressive business leaders, who remade his $1 billion firm, which operates in 110 countries, into a sustainable and profitable organization.