Pictured (left to right): Hospitality Professional of the Year Sean Hennessey, CEO, Lodging Advisors LLC; Michelle Hennessey; Greater New York Chapter of HSMAI Board Member Jim Rowe, Senior Partner, MME; and Greater New York Chapter of HSMAI Chapter President, Louis Zameryka, Regional Manager-Eastern USA, Booking.com. — Photo by HSMAI Greater NY Chapter
Pictured (left to right): Greater New York Chapter of HSMAI Immediate Past President Markus Boeker, Senior Marketing Manager/Americas, Orbitz Worldwide, presenting the award to Peter Levy, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for IMG Fashion Worldwide. — Photo by HSMAI Greater NY Chapter

The Greater New York Chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has named the 2011 honorees for the Annual Hospitality Awards of Excellence. The awards were presented on June 8, 2011 along with the 18th Annual Frank W. Berkman Tourism Achievement Award, this year going to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, produced by IMG Fashion.

For 2011, the HSMAI Greater New York Chapter named five individuals honored for their outstanding work and dedication to the hospitality industry and the sales and marketing profession. The following honorees were named for 2011:

  • Hotel General Manager of the Year: Frank C. Nicholas, CHA, General Manager, Wyndham Garden Times Square South
  • Sales & Marketing Executive of the Year: Adele Gutman Milne, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for HK Hotels
  • Revenue Management Professional of the Year: Tom Buoy, CRME, Senior Vice President Revenue Management, Morgans Hotel Group
  • Hospitality Professional of the Year: Sean Hennessey, CEO, Lodging Advisors, LLC
  • Hospitality Student of the Year: Sooyon Park, New York University-Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management

"These five individuals were the tops among our outstanding hospitality industry executives that have lead New York City back to tourism health following the economic challenges we all faced over the past few years," said Markus Boeker, of Orbitz.com, Immediate Past President of the HSMAI Greater New York Chapter. "The Frank W. Berkman Awards Gala remains unequaled for the recognition as well as the prominence of hospitality industry dignitary attendance," Boeker added.

The Annual Tourism Achievement Award is presented by the Past Presidents of the HSMAI Greater New York Chapter to recognize and honor individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the tourism industry in New York City.

The inaugural Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center featured more than 90 of the world's most established and up-and-coming designers presenting their collections for Spring 2011. Each year, the more than 230,000 attendees at New York's Fashion Weeks generate new economic activity for New York City businesses, accounting for more than $466 million in direct visitor spending and generating more than $770 million in economic activity in New York City.

"The impact of Fashion Week on our hospitality industry speaks to the spirit of our annual Frank W. Berkman Tourism Achievement Award as Fashion Week is one of the annual highlights of our New York City tourism calendar as well," said Frank Stapleton, Co-Chair of the Frank W. Berkman Awards Committee for the Past Presidents of HSMAI Greater New York Chapter.

Peter Levy, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for IMG Fashion Worldwide, accepted the award at the Frank W. Berkman black-tie dinner acknowledging the crucial importance of the tourism industry to Fashion Week and vowing to continue their efforts to promote New York as a focal point for fashion year round.

Frank W. Berkman, CHME, was a former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of HSMAI for 16 years. This award was created in 1994 by the Past President's Council of the HSMAI Greater New York Chapter and was named after Berkman because of his dedication to building HSMAI into the highly-influential international hospitality industry organization it is today.

Previous recipients recognized for their outstanding contributions to the tourism industry in New York City include:

  • 2010 Times Square Alliance
  • 2009 United States Tennis Association U.S. Open
  • 2008 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
  • 2007 Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes
  • 2006 Jonathan Tisch, Chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels
  • 2005 ING New York City Marathon
  • 2004 The Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting
  • 2003 Macy*s
  • 2002 FDNY, EMTs, NYPD & Port Authority Police
  • 2001 Starwood Hotels
  • 2000 The League of American Theatre & Producers
  • 1999 The Today Show
  • 1998 Donald Trump
  • 1997 Mayor Rudolph Giulliani
  • 1996 Arthur Surin, Senior Vice President of Hilton Hotels Corporation
  • 1995 Robert Preston Tisch, Chairman of the Board for Loews Hotels
  • 1994 Charles Gillette, Chair of the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau

About HSMAI

HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry, and bringing together customers and members at annual events. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 39 chapters in the Americas Region with the Greater New York Chapter being the largest.

For more information on HSMAI, contact Kathie Stapleton at phone: 914-762-1456; fax: 914-944-9227; or e-mail: [email protected].

Leigh-Mary Kearney
(516) 594-4100
HSMAI Greater NY Chapter