NABHOOD Conference 2016

NABHOOD first fell on our radar due to a tweet. @HeadHotelier suggested that the conference in Miami may be of interest to us. He was right! After visiting the website, we learned that entertainment mogul Shelia C. Johnson of Salamander Hospitality and other heavy hitters in the tourism industry were members of this organization, we decided to take the trip to Florida.

It was like walking into a Caribbean Festival. The NABHOOD luncheon was preceded by a fair where tourism agencies and hotel owners invited attendees to visit their location to enjoy all their unique amenities. Many of the vendors had accents and were very interested in the connections that social media provides. Small islands like Monsarrat don’t have the assistance or budget available in major cities and rely on these events to network and market their destination locations.

At lunch, we were served a delicious and healthy meal that included mango salsa, sliced avocado and jasmine rice; very eclectic for a conference. The keynote speaker, Mr. Andy Ingram, spoke of the lack of diversity in hotel and resort ownership and even offered tips to get more minorities involved in the industry. He also spoke of the advantages that social media provides for those looking to recruit minority talent.

NABHOOD host conferences and tourism diversity summits all over the country to educate the community on the opportunities within the hospitality industry. For more information, visit

www.nabhood.net