The end of summer and the end of the year are both upon us; and, most importantly, it’s the end of Rich’s tenure as publisher of Hospitality Upgrade. Although he will be missed, our team is excited that he’ll finally have more time with his hobbies and less time worrying about day-to-day business activities. We’re also excited about the growth, resources and support that HFTP brings. Please read our ‘Publishers Letters’ on pages 4 and 6. Rich is still around for a while to continue his stories in ‘Siegel Sez’ and to bring his unique perspective to our industry Summits.

Also in this letter, I want to thank Fran Worrall, who has written our feature articles for the last seven years. A fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself, and starting this month she is the new editor in chief of Atlanta Magazine’s HOME. I’m excited for her to embark on this journey and am grateful for her help over the years in providing exclusive and insightful industry content. (I also secretly hope I can get her to write a feature story here and there in the future!)

Now, to the fall issue. This year’s CIO Summit featured an amazing program and could easily be referred to as the AI Summit, as every session touched on the topic of artificial intelligence—from practical uses to legal challenges. Like it or not, AI is not going anywhere. And from our post-event survey, our program was right on target. Attendees also enjoyed teambuilding activities, an asset managers panel, an extremely competitive game of KAHOOT! led by Hyatt’s Cameron Hammond and some fun Nashville-related activities. Check out pages 52-65 for Jeffrey Parker's article on the entire CIO Summit line-up.

The 2015 issue of Hospitality Upgrade was the first in which we published a dedicated section for our sales, marketing and revenue strategy readers, and with the help of our great partners at HSMAI we created a new content section. In late August of this year, Bob Gilbert sent me his final letter to open that section. If you’re a long-time reader, you know that Bob has opened the HSMAI section with his thoughts and insights for the past decade. I encourage you to read his letter on page 86. It’s everything I know Bob to be—professional, grateful and optimistic.

Bob retired from his post as president of HSMAI in early July after receiving a critical medical diagnosis and sadly lost his battle far too soon. He has been a friend and a mentor to many people in our industry, and his influence is far reaching. I can’t begin to share all the stories I’ve heard about Bob’s positive impact; in tribute to him, I hope you’ll read pages 116-117 and the letter from Cindy Estis Green that encapsulates so much of his time with us. I can’t imagine Commercial Strategy Week without him—sharing the highlights of the meeting, catching up on life, hearing about the grandkids or his most recent travels with Kim. Having known him inspires me and so many others to find the road less traveled, to reach for the stars, and to aspire to a life well lived. I will miss his radiant smile and joyful personality. We celebrate Bob’s impact on the hospitality industry and are committed to continuing his legacy through HSMAI’s foundation. Please see the adjacent page and join me as we carry on his vision.

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