With VALERIE MILLER TRAVEL

Holland America West Coast Cruises Includes Four Different Regions for Travelers

Holland America Line has opened cruise bookings for its 2024-2025 West Coast season from San Diego, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Sailings from these two North American homeports allow guests to see the world from their doorstep, without international air or by taking an easy flight from Canada.

Travelers can set out from the West Coast to explore the vibrant cultures of Mexico, Hawaii’s aloha spirit, the charming seaside escapes of the Pacific Coast and the famed Panama Canal on five ships across 42 cruises. Sailings are roundtrip from San Diego, roundtrip from Vancouver, or begin or end in either of the two ports.

“Holland America Line continues to cultivate our North America homeport cruises to offer a diverse range of destinations without the need for long-haul air,” said Beth Bodensteiner, Holland America Line’s chief commercial officer. “Our West Coast departures are a rich collection of close-to-home itineraries, and by offering the ability to book back-to-back cruises in different regions our guests can check off more of their must-do travel

About Holland America Line experiences in one vacation.”

From September 2024 through May 2025, guests can embark cruises ranging from a four-day voyage along the Pacific Coast to a 21-day transit of the Panama Canal. Itineraries are uniquely curated to include popular ports alongside lesservisited locales that showcase the natural beauty, cultural diversity and rich history of each region.

This season, Holland America Line is featuring more Panama Canal Collectors’ Voyages that begin with a Hawaii cruise and expand the canal transit experience to the eastern Caribbean. Many of the other cruises also can be extended into Collectors’ Voyages to create the ultimate exploration with more economical fares than booking the cruises individually. Ranging from 14 to 31 days, these longer journeys combine nonrepeating, back-to-back itineraries, enabling guests to visit more than one region.

For more information about Holland America Line, consult a travel advisor, or visit: hollandamerica.com.

Holland America Line, part of Carnival Corporation and PLC, has been exploring the world for 150 years with expertly crafted itineraries, extraordinary service and genuine connections to each destination. Offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience, its fleet visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world and has shared the thrill of Alaska for 75 years — longer than any other cruise line. Holland America Line's 11 vessels feature a diverse range of enriching activities and amenities focused on destination immersion and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from a Culinary Council of world-famous chefs.

Hilton Announces Partnership with James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant Awards

Hilton announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with the James Beard Foundation, serving as a Premier Sponsor of the 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards. As the first global hospitality company to sponsor the Outstanding Bar Award, the activation underscores Hilton’s ongoing leadership and innovation in food and beverage.

The 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony will take place on June 5 in Chicago and will honor outstanding achievement in the food and beverage industry across 22

HR Matters: Pay Transparency and Equity at the Workplace

Pay Transparency is the practice of openly sharing pay-related information with current and potential employees. This information generally includes the pay scales or salary ranges for specific positions in job postings. The goal of pay transparency is to help ensure fairness and equity in the workplace by providing employees and applicants with a better understanding of how they’re compensated compared to other positions and individuals. Employees value pay transparency because it can help them to avoid applying for jobs they wouldn’t accept due to low pay, negotiate for better salaries and build trust with their employers.

Despite many employers’ reluctance to embrace pay transparency—because pay transparency can reveal unintended pay gaps and trigger questions from current employees—the practice has gained a stronger foothold in 2023. In fact, a growing number of states and localities require employers to categories and a range of experiences, from fine-dining establishments to casual gems, and emerging talent to established leaders. share pay information with applicants and employees. The state list includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island and Washington (but not Illinois yet).

The James Beard Awards are among the industry’s most prestigious honors, recognizing exceptional talent in the culinary and food media industries, and broader food system.

The Outstanding Bar Award recognizes those who demonstrate consistent excellence in guest experience, atmosphere, hospitality, and operations while contributing positively to the broader community.

Illinois Equal Pay Act - Employers with 100 or more employees (“covered employers”) in Illinois must submit an application to obtain an Equal Pay Registration Certificate (EPRC) by providing certain pay, demographic, and other data to the IDOL every two years. The IDOL uses the submitted information to help identify and respond to potential IEPA violations.

Illinois covered employers are required to (1) obtain the registration certificate every two years and (2) include EEO-1 type diversity and employment data in annual report to the Illinois Secretary of State. Most Illinois employers will need to submit the EPRC application by March 24, 2024.

For more information or answers to any questions you might have about human resources, contact Rob Wilson: rwilson@employco.com. You can also find Employco listed in our directory under “Human Resources Services”.

2023 Shmoozefest Dates

Monday, June 5

Monday, Sept.

Monday, Dec. 4