in memoriam
HSMAI Announces the Passing of President and CEO Bob Gilbert
HSMAI | September 20, 2024
Gilbert Proudly Led the Organization for More than 30 Years, Through Industry-Changing Events Including the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, 2008 Recession, and Covid-19 Pandemic FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: McLean, VA (September 20, 2024) – It is with profound sadness that the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Americas, HSMAI Foundation and HSMAI Global, announce that President and CEO, Bob Gilbert passed away on September 19, 2024. In July 2024, the organization announced that Gilbert had accelerated his retirement plan as a result of a serious health issue following 30 years of executive leadership for HSMAI. ...
My Place Hotels of America Mourns the Passing of Hotel Industry Icon Ron Rivett
My Place Hotels of America, LLC | December 14, 2023
ABERDEEN, SD — December 14, 2023 — My Place Hotels of America is deeply saddened to announce the passing of hotel industry icon Ron Rivett, the company’s co-founder and chairman. He leaves a remarkable 50-year legacy dedicated to nurturing a culture that profoundly values people, treating business partners with the warmth of friendship and employees with the closeness of family. His enduring motto, "It’s all about the people," was a constant theme in all his endeavors and relationships. Rivett is renowned for co-founding Super 8 Motels with friend Dennis Brown in 1974. This venture marked a significant turning point in the bud...
WTTC Statement on the Death of Henry Kissinger
The World Travel & Tourism Council | December 1, 2023
London, UK: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today acknowledges the influential contributions of American statesman Henry Kissinger in its founding. Kissinger's encouragement and support were instrumental in giving the Travel & Tourism sector a unified voice on the global stage. In the late 1980s, sector leaders, including James Robinson III of American Express, recognised the lack of awareness about Travel & Tourism’s economic impact within the sector and among governments. Despite being a major job provider, the sector was often seen as non-essential, with no collective data or unified representation. This led ...
Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Announces the Untimely Passing of CEO Tony Santo
Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited | August 21, 2023
TORONTO, Aug. 21, 2023 - Gateway Casinos & Entertainment (Gateway) today announced that Tony Santo, Chief Executive Officer and Director, passed away unexpectedly on August 17, 2023. Tolek Strukoff, Gateway's President, said, "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tony Santo. Tony joined Gateway as our President and Chief Executive Officer in October 2013 and became a Director in July 2017. His mission was to establish Gateway as Canada's premier entertainment and gaming company. You could often find Tony visiting sites and staff from dawn to dusk connecting about their work, families, and lives. Tony was an...
Hotel Industry Icon, Bruce Baltin, Passes Away
March 20, 2023
March 20, 2023− Hotel Industry Consultant Bruce Baltin, an industry icon for more than five decades, passed away suddenly at age 79 earlier this month. He is survived by his wife, Tammi Baltin, his brother, Mark Baltin, his sister, Suzanne Jacobs, and his sons, Steven Baltin and Brian Baltin. Baltin spent his entire career as a hotel consultant. He returned to PKF Hospitality Group as a Director in the US Office in 2022, following a long career with the firm that began in 1970. Baltin became a partner at Pannell Kerr Forster in 1978 and a founding shareholder in the newly launched PKF Consulting practice in 1992. He served as Managing Dire...
In Memoriam: A Tribute to Howard Feiertag, HTM Industry Giant, Educator and Mentor
March 8, 2023
Dear Feiertag Hospitality and Tourism Management students, alumni and friends, With heavy hearts we are sharing with you the sad news: Howard Feiertag, namesake of our program, HTM industry giant, long-serving faculty member, and a kind, generous, charming human being, passed away on March 3, 2023 at the age of 94. Howard amassed over thirty years of experience in virtually every area of the industry including hotel operations, food and beverage, sales and marketing, and meetings and convention management. He led hundreds of extremely popular professional development sessions at major hospitality and tourism conferences. In 1989, it was...
Accor Pays Tribute to Co-Founder Gérard Pélisson
March 6, 2023
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Accor co-founder, Gérard Pélisson, who died on March 6th, 2023 at the age of 91, surrounded by his loved ones. The Group offers its most sincere condolences to his loved ones and more particularly to his nephew, Gilles Pélisson, who has worked for Accor for 17 years, including five years leading the Group. Gérard was an iconic pioneer who, together with co-founder Paul Dubrule, inspired a modern approach to French hospitality at a time when it was poised for fresh ideas. During Les Trente Glorieuses, France’s post-war boom, a new, more modern world emerged, changing the face...
Industry Hospitality Veteran Thomas McCarthy Dies at 90
HSMAI | February 9, 2023
McLean, Virginia, February 9, 2023—The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has revealed the passing of their past President, Thomas Tracey McCarthy, Jr, on January 20, 2023. Thomas had a long and illustrious career in all phases of hotel marketing. After graduating from Villanova University, he started his career as a room clerk at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, joining Hilton Hotels two years later. He was a sales representative at Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria, a sales manager of the Beverly Hilton and director of sales at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C, eventually becoming a member of the Wal...
