Salt School Garners International Hospitality Industry Accolade
Talent & Leadership Development Award Recognizes Local Workforce Development Program
Salt School, the hospitality training program developed in Asbury Park by hotelier David Bowd was awarded one of the industry’s top honors Tuesday.
Bowd, a co-owner and operator of iStar’s flagship hotel The Asbury, and operator of Asbury Lanes and Asbury Ocean Club, operates three other northeastern hotels – Salt House Inn, Eben House and The Chequit.
The honor comes from the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Foundation via their annual Adrian Awards.
“This is the first-of-its-kind award from the Foundation in their quest to elevate the overall caliber of sales and marketing professionals in the hospitality industry,” said Gizem Ozcelik, VP of NJFPR, iStar’s PR firm, shown at left with Jenni Loughman, Salt Hotels’ Chief Operating Officer.
Salt School garnered the Talent & Leadership Development Award for its contribution to attracting new talent, engaging existing talent and developing emerging talent in hospitality.
“I am beyond humbled that something that started as a simple idea has been able to affect so many people in this community and is now attracting recognition throughout the industry,” Bowd said.
Salt School launched in 2016 prior to The Asbury’s opening; it was the first hotel of its size to open in 50 years. Bowd said he introduced the free workforce development program in order to employ as many local residents as possible. He now hosts a post-course job fair that introduces Salt School graduates to other hospitality industry opportunities.
And while over 120 students attended the inaugural eight-week course, to date four iterations of the Salt School have drawn over 500 participants; many currently employed at the local venues Bowd operates.
“I am proud that Salt School has evolved into such a tremendous success,” said iStar Senior Vice President of Land Development Brian Cheripka. “Our decision to support David in his vision for Salt School is just one example of iStar’s steadfast commitment to the Asbury Park community, and our long term goal of creating meaningful employment opportunities for residents of this City. It is beyond gratifying to see David’s team, and Salt School, getting well-deserved recognition with an award of this caliber.”
The Talent & Leadership Development Award is aimed at addressing an industry-wide shortage of C-suite talent. Organizers point to Deloitte’s 2019 U.S. Travel & Hospitality Outlook which reported:
“The travel industry can’t grow without talent: Labor gaps are not new to travel, but the magnitude of the current workforce shortage certainly is. In 2009, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 353,000 job openings across the leisure and hospitality sector. As of 2018, with the travel industry surging, that number swelled to 1,139,000. In fact, travel leads all industries in open positions. Not only are we experiencing a very real labor shortage, but it is critical to get the right people in place now to optimize the results of sales, marketing and revenue management so as to successfully navigate the industry cycle and softer market conditions we know will come.”
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