New York, New York—November 12, 2014—As the first place winners of the 2014 Hospitality and Tourism Management Program (HTMP) International Competition, Albert Zeng, Madeleine Liu, Shannon Yu, and Michael Lin of Monta Vista DECA were invited to participate in the 2014 American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) Fall Conference and International Hotel Motel Restaurant Tradeshow (IHMRS) Tradeshow from November 8-11^th, where the students were recognized for their accomplishments.
At the Fall Conference, the team had the opportunity to meet the AH&LA Board of Trustees, network with the leaders of the Hospitality Industry, and learn important trends in the industry, all while enjoying the best food in New York. They also attended the AH&LA Leadership Dinner, where over 300 of the Hospitality Industry’s most influential leaders gathered to celebrate the AH&LA Chair-Elect, Jim Abrahamson. After the team had breakfast with him in the morning and explained the DECA story, Abrahamson recognized DECA at the Leadership Dinner and stated that he would “reserve a table for DECA [at the event] in the future.” At the event, the team met people such as the President of the Best Western hotel family and Anthony Melchiorri, creator of the show Hotel Impossible.
The IHMRS is a major event in the Hospitality Industry each year, with over 500 different stores presenting their businesses and even more visitors viewing the many breakthroughs presented by the stores. The team had a chance to get a sneak peak at all the coolest parts of the industry and what new technologies would be available in the near future. We look forward to growing the relationship between AH&LA and DECA, Inc. It would be a major benefit to be engaged in a major industry just as our friends Future Farmers of America (FFA) are aligned with the agriculture industry.