By Dale J. Venturini
President & CEO of Rhode Island Hospitality & Tourism Association
Working with the nationally acclaimed sales, marketing a branding firm of Wallace & Washburn, RIHTA took a hard look at itself and how the Association can best serve the ever changing needs of its members and the industry. The legitimacy of a member-funded association relies on meeting the needs and expectations of current and potential members, and if we aren’t meeting those needs and expectations, then the association is illegitimate and will ultimately fail.
Over several months, Wallace & Washburn polled members, non-members, elected officials, and business and community leaders on the role of the Association and came back with a list of recommendations the Association should incorporate. Much to our surprise, the number one recommendation was to change the name of the Association.
It seems the “Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association” is too long and cumbersome for people to say, write or understand. If people don’t understand the meaning of our name, how can they understand what the Association does? In fact, 66 percent of respondents thought the name was too cumbersome and confusing, with an overwhelming majority (91 percent) of respondents referring to it as something other than its official name. . Twenty-four percent know the Association as RIHTA, or RITA (28 percent) or Rhode Island Hospitality (52 percent). You can’t argue with those numbers!
The recommendation is to keep our name, but start to call ourselves by its acronym, or RIHTA (sounds like Rita). W&W also suggested we change the logo from a pineapple, the international sign of hospitality, to a pleasant looking woman with outstretched arms. Unfortunately, the image was a little to “St. Pauli’s Girl” for our taste, and I think the pineapple is best representative of our industry. We have put a working group together to look further at this recommendation – not one in which we take lightly.
Although it seems we may have missed the mark on our name, we are on target with our educational and training programs, legislative affairs and membership benefits, although we do need to a better job at communicating all of this to our members.
Of all the membership benefits, discounts on healthcare are deemed the most important, despite no program being available. RIHTA does offer many cost-saving programs to members including credit care processing, music licensing, and the natural gas buying program, which is easily the most popular and successful membership benefit. RIHTA, in partnership with the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association, is leading the legislative charge for Association health plans, which would allow members to buy health insurance as a group. Healthcare is the top priority for RIHTA and we will continue to fight for healthcare reforms that make it more affordable and accessible to members.
Second, educational and training programs are perceived as important to members. Business owners look to RIHTA to help train their employees from food safety, sales, marketing, and leadership. RIHTA is perceived as the organization that properly trains the workforce in excellence. RIHTA offers a suite of training programs, and has created new partnerships with non-profit community based organizations such as Dorcas Place and the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, as well as state agencies, most notably the Department of Labor and Training.
Other recommendations centered on the Association doing a better job at the frequency and method of communicating with members. While we email our members consistently, it is very easy to get caught up in the faceless, impersonal world of technology. We need to remember that we ARE in the hospitality business, and we need to do a better job at meeting with the people we represent the old fashioned way – face to face over a great meal! Expect to see me and my staff at your table very soon.
In the end, the re-branding exercise was important, as it provided us with honest and in-depth information about our members and their needs. It’s not always easy to take an honest look at yourself in the mirror, and it’s even harder to accept criticism, but it’s necessary if we want to remain relevant to our members and to remain a leading voice in public discussions. In the end, RIHTA is doing a good job, but we can’t rest on our laurels, and we won’t.
President & CEO of Rhode Island Hospitality & Tourism Association
Working with the nationally acclaimed sales, marketing a branding firm of Wallace & Washburn, RIHTA took a hard look at itself and how the Association can best serve the ever changing needs of its members and the industry. The legitimacy of a member-funded association relies on meeting the needs and expectations of current and potential members, and if we aren’t meeting those needs and expectations, then the association is illegitimate and will ultimately fail.
Over several months, Wallace & Washburn polled members, non-members, elected officials, and business and community leaders on the role of the Association and came back with a list of recommendations the Association should incorporate. Much to our surprise, the number one recommendation was to change the name of the Association.
It seems the “Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association” is too long and cumbersome for people to say, write or understand. If people don’t understand the meaning of our name, how can they understand what the Association does? In fact, 66 percent of respondents thought the name was too cumbersome and confusing, with an overwhelming majority (91 percent) of respondents referring to it as something other than its official name. . Twenty-four percent know the Association as RIHTA, or RITA (28 percent) or Rhode Island Hospitality (52 percent). You can’t argue with those numbers!
The recommendation is to keep our name, but start to call ourselves by its acronym, or RIHTA (sounds like Rita). W&W also suggested we change the logo from a pineapple, the international sign of hospitality, to a pleasant looking woman with outstretched arms. Unfortunately, the image was a little to “St. Pauli’s Girl” for our taste, and I think the pineapple is best representative of our industry. We have put a working group together to look further at this recommendation – not one in which we take lightly.
Although it seems we may have missed the mark on our name, we are on target with our educational and training programs, legislative affairs and membership benefits, although we do need to a better job at communicating all of this to our members.
Of all the membership benefits, discounts on healthcare are deemed the most important, despite no program being available. RIHTA does offer many cost-saving programs to members including credit care processing, music licensing, and the natural gas buying program, which is easily the most popular and successful membership benefit. RIHTA, in partnership with the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association, is leading the legislative charge for Association health plans, which would allow members to buy health insurance as a group. Healthcare is the top priority for RIHTA and we will continue to fight for healthcare reforms that make it more affordable and accessible to members.
Second, educational and training programs are perceived as important to members. Business owners look to RIHTA to help train their employees from food safety, sales, marketing, and leadership. RIHTA is perceived as the organization that properly trains the workforce in excellence. RIHTA offers a suite of training programs, and has created new partnerships with non-profit community based organizations such as Dorcas Place and the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, as well as state agencies, most notably the Department of Labor and Training.
Other recommendations centered on the Association doing a better job at the frequency and method of communicating with members. While we email our members consistently, it is very easy to get caught up in the faceless, impersonal world of technology. We need to remember that we ARE in the hospitality business, and we need to do a better job at meeting with the people we represent the old fashioned way – face to face over a great meal! Expect to see me and my staff at your table very soon.
In the end, the re-branding exercise was important, as it provided us with honest and in-depth information about our members and their needs. It’s not always easy to take an honest look at yourself in the mirror, and it’s even harder to accept criticism, but it’s necessary if we want to remain relevant to our members and to remain a leading voice in public discussions. In the end, RIHTA is doing a good job, but we can’t rest on our laurels, and we won’t.
