Your membership’s secret ingredient By Lisa Leinberger
When hospitality business owners talk about the value of their membership in the Washington Hospitality Association, some of them focus on the legislative advocacy which gives them a stronger voice in local and state issues that affect their bottom line. Some highlight the many cost-savings programs to which they have access. Others stress the benefit of having someone on their side that they can reach out to when they need something: that one-on-one relationship with their territory manager that is key to getting the most out of their membership. When you need something specific, such as training platforms, purveyor and professional service referrals, or when you have an industry-related question or challenge, you have a reliable resource to call. Territory Manager Tamorro Farrell recalls when a member was in a crunch. A member once called her, completely stressed out because in two hours, she had to terminate an employee under challenging circumstances.
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“I need to know what I should say and what I shouldn’t say,” the member told her. Tamorro immediately reached out to an attorney in the Washington Hospitality Association’s Advisory Network. She then referenced the HERO manual and read the best practices for terminating an employee to the member and general manager, including the section that spelled out how to avoid a lawsuit. The member was starting to feel a lot better about the situation. Then, the attorney called the operator and offered specific advice. “By the time she got done talking to me and the attorney, she said she felt empowered to effectively, calmly and confidently deal with this situation,” Tamorro said. It’s the special ingredient of having a membership with the Washington Hospitality Association—your territory manager. They are the support system who equips you with the tools to cope with the challenges that are unique to the hospitality industry and the state. “We have resources for every business model,” Tamorro said.
