2022 was a great year for NHLA and our members. Rebounding after the pandemic posed many challenges for the industry. However, our members rose to that challenge and enjoyed a successful and in many cases, record-setting year.
The Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association welcomed over 30 new members into membership. The new members included hotels in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe as well as several industry suppliers.
NHLA created and presented over 75 activities and events in 2022. Those included conferences, seminars, webinars, social networking, certification classes along with our annual golf tournament and the Stars of the Industry Awards Gala. We had thousands of attendees in total for these 2022 events.
Our Behind the Scenes tours were a popular activity for our members and guests. Visiting hotels and venues creates a better understanding of what they offer and gives everyone the opportunity for social posts and word-of-mouth promotion. The Behind the Scenes tours will continue throughout 2023, as well.
The Nevada Hotel and Lodging Foundation presented our first scholarships to three UNLV students. A reception was held at the beautiful Hospitality Hall at UNLV where we congratulated the three students on their exemplary accomplishments and educational aspirations.
Our social media channels were noticeably increased in engagement and posts throughout the 2022 year. Our blog guest posts were also increased; thank you to all who contributed interesting information.
The Emerging Leaders council was expanded with more professionals participating in the guidance and ongoing development of this program. The Emerging Leaders mentor program had the highest attendance ever at 90 participants.
Women in Lodging council was also increased. A high-energy conference was presented in November with a focus on wellness. This was a well-attended, fun event. A WIL event was held in December at Ethel M Chocolate Factory where attendees had the fun of tasting chocolate paired with wine. We also toured the holiday cactus gardens.
The technology committee organized and managed one of our top events of the year which was the conference in November. Held at Black Fire Innovation, the conference included vendor booths and demos, educational sessions, a Shark Tank competition and a speed networking session. Feedback was extraordinarily positive…looking forward to our next one.
The security committee presented a conference focusing on human trafficking awareness and prevention. The speakers were experts in the field and offered many ways to recognize this global problem and actions to take.
The clean and green committee hosted a seminar featuring a presentation by our members at Orkin that included a bedbug sniffing dog. What a detective he was!
We hosted a leadership luncheon in Northern Nevada at the Atlantis that was well-attended. We also provided a CGSP workshop and exam in Reno whereas all participants successfully passed the exams and are now Certified Guest Service Professionals, the highest recognized designation in guest service in the industry. The CGSP event was also held in Las Vegas, again everyone successfully passed. Congratulations! We thank the Timothy S. Y. Lam for their sponsorship and support in this program.
We would like to thank everyone for their interest, participation, engagement, assistance and contributions. It is through the involvement of our members that we are able to continually grow and meet the demands of the industry with the appropriate resources and activities.
Let’s all have a fantastic 2023!