By third quarter 2011, members of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International will see a new website, newsletter and logo. The changes are the visible part of the association’s rebranding work. Less visible, but more important, are a new mission statement, new Expert Communities and expanded educational opportunities.

The new logo replaces one from the early 1980s. Its design and color palette offer a modern look and symbolize the association’s three-pronged mission.

Both logo and mission, says Gilbert, are part of HMSAI’s efforts to update and be more relevant for stakeholders. “Companies want more ROI out of all employees,” he says. “Our mission reflects that. Our changes focus on how we help members grow their company’s revenue. We want to be sure people have skill sets that make them better business people.”

“The new mission is narrowcast in terms of what we’re trying to be and for whom,” says Robert A. Gilbert, president and CEO of HSMAI. It states simply: To grow business for hotels and their partners by fueling sales, inspiring marketing and optimizing revenue.

Those skill sets can be sharpened further through the offering of a new training program. “We’ve just partnered with an online training program called Certified Hospitality Business Acumen,” says Fran Brasseux, executive vice president. “It offers a rigorous, five-week online program that puts someone in the seat of a general manager and takes them through all aspects of running a hotel. Through this program they get a better understanding of operations. The more we can do to make them well-versed in overall business the more successful they’re going to be as a sales person.”

To further the new mission, HSMAI is developing Expert Communities, a new generation of advisory boards chaired by industry leaders.

“For the last seven or eight years we’ve had special interest groups,” says Gilbert. “This is the next generation of thought leaders. We’re bringing together individuals who share a common interest. For example, for those with responsibility for managing e-commerce we have a digital marketing council.”

These “committee” members will advise the association about what’s happening in their area so HMSAI staff can convert that into benefits for our membership, for example white papers, articles for industry publications and appropriate webinars.

Expert Communities will be created according to membership interest. To start, Expert Communities and their leaders include:

• Sales: John Washko, vice president, sales and marketing, The Broadmoor
• Marketing: John Moser, chief marketing officer, Denihan Hospitality
• Revenue Optimization: Scott Roby, CRME, vice president, revenue management, Evolution Hospitality

The digital newsletter, renamed “HSMAI Insights,” will now offer original content from roundtables, webinars and other HSMAI activities. And, an easier-to-navigate Website will launch by the third quarter.