By John Hogan
Anthony G. Marshall
The hotel industry is one that involves a serious financial commitment that is complemented by the fact this is a people business requiring 24 hours a day of attention. In businesses that never close, there are many issues that involve following legal statutes and codes, brand standards, industry best practices and even common sense.
Tony Marshall was the embodiment of an educator who crossed the line from Academic Educator to Corporate Conscience in the ways he helped define the common sense approach to reasonable care by his ongoing work.
Marshall was best known for his involvement initially as Dean of the School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University in Miami for more than two decades. During this tenure, he became well known to many hoteliers as a columnist and keynote speaker. It was in his communication venues to industry that he shared diverse ideas that assisted many hotels try to focus on the everyday challenges.
Wanting to demonstrate that an academic could succeed in business, Marshall successfully addressed the financial and practical issues facing AH&LA’s Educational Institute as CEO in the early 2000s.
There are 1000s of students and graduates of the FIU program who likely remember his lectures or assignments. I personally know he wrote more than 400 columns for one of the major hospitality magazine over a 20 year period and two books. He delivered hundreds of workshops to industry and academic groups, with a balance of wit and some sarcasm but always with the goal of helping each of us to individually increase their knowledge and success.
Marshall passed away ten years ago (December 2006). As one who recalls the impact of his messages, I invite readers of this online service who either personally knew Tony, or was impacted by his work or who simply has a personal story to share to do so.
Hospitality is natural home for storytelling. Please share your Tony Marshall story with me by 12/20/16, so we can all have one more collective smile. We hope to compile them for publication by 12/29/16.
Please send them to John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.com.
All rights reserved by John Hogan and this column may be included in an upcoming book on hotel management. This article may not be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.
