Remembering Bob Gilbert for His Humanity

Ever since I got the news of the passing of Bob Gilbert, HSMAI’s President and CEO for 30 years, I have found both comfort and inspiration in the tributes that others have shared on social media, LinkedIn, and the tribute wall set up in his honor. I have loved reading about all he accomplished in his career, first on the hotel management side, then by rescuing HSMAI and leading it to its enormous successes.

For weeks now I have sought the headspace to share my own memories, as I am still processing his loss. First, I’ll do my best to highlight just how amazing his accomplishments are, but most importantly, memories of Bob’s humanity.

I first met Bob Gilbert when he was the VP of Marketing for Richfield Hospitality, which at the time was the world’s largest hotel management company. The first time we spoke was when I cold-called him to sell hospitality training services when I was the President of Hospitality Services of America (HSA). I remember him being polite, professional, and kind when I called him, which was pretty rare those days when busy executives received dozens of phone solicitations each week. Well, Bob never bought anything from us, but that was mostly because right after we connected he left to take the helm of HSMAI, which back then was known as the HSMA, the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association.

Now, from what I remember back then, HSMA was struggling with a shrinking membership and depending mostly on the decentralized model of local chapters. Unfortunately, and unfairly, when I talked up HSMA to clients and contacts, I found it had somehow gained the reputation as a resume exchange club; many GM’s were starting to discourage participation. Being an active member of one of the strongest local chapters, and being in the state of Florida, which had many strong chapters plus our own Annual State HSMAI Conference, I knew differently and saw the potential, especially for education and training.

Therefore, I was super excited to hear from Bob on one of his first days on the job, when he reached out to express interest in partnering with our training company to provide more educational resources for its membership. And partner we did! During the late 1990’s I got to work closely with Bob as our company organized, promoted, and managed what Bob named HSMAI University, which back then was a roadshow series of training workshops featuring various topics and speakers from our company’s team as well as other industry leaders. Bob always was a future-casting leader, and so in the year 2000, working together, we began the industry’s first webcast training events. I remember how reassuring Bob was when I was sitting in my office about to present the very first in the series. These were nothing more than narrated screenshares of slide decks presented on WebEx, but the series was a huge success.

Four years later, after I had sold and exited my company, Bob immediately reached out again about his latest ingenious brainstorm, which was a Revenue Management Advisory Board he had just started, and he wanted me to take the lead as the official HSMAI Advisor. This was one of two groups he called SIGs (special interest groups), with the other being the Digital Marketing Committee, led by other industry leaders such as Andrew Rubinacci and Cindy Estes Green. I remember our first Revenue Management Conference held in Dallas, in June of 2004, where we proudly announced having something like 120 participants, but I have to admit that the count probably included 10 HSMAI staff and even a few waiters! These revenue and digital marketing groups grew extremely fast, and soon merged into a powerhouse event attracting the top minds in the professions of marketing and distribution, known today as the Revenue Optimization Conference (ROC). More recently, again as a result of Bob’s leadership, the ROC has expanded into a two-day Commercial Strategy Conference.

Nudged gently forward by Bob’s vision, in the three years I was advisor, our revenue group published Defining Revenue Management, piloted by Tim Wiersma and authored by Caryl Helsyl and Kathleen Cullen, and under the leadership of Elizabeth Cambra, also launched the revenue management certification program now known as CRME.

But Bob’s accomplishments didn’t stop with our groups. Under his leadership HSMAI greatly expanded its international presence, forming strong chapters in Asia/Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and added professional certifications for other hospitality professions such as sales (CHSL), marketing (CHDM), business (CHBA) and others.

Well, I’m 735 words into this and still have not begun to capture all of his accomplishments, but most importantly I want to talk about Bob’s humanity. What I remember most about Bob was that he was always fully present with whomever he was talking to at that moment, even while speaking to you at huge conferences where he was the rock star everyone wanted a selfie with. As Kathie Stapleton wrote on his wall, “When you had a conversation with him, he made you feel as if you were the most important person in the room!” Srikanth Beldona, PhD., wrote “As a person, he was magnanimous, thoughtful and a wonderful friend.”

 What was truly amazing was how he managed to remember key details about so many people! Many times I witnessed conversations he had with others when he asked about their spouse, child, pet, or some other personal detail. For me, he always remembered to ask for my wife by name, and about our children. I am so grateful my own daughter Julia Kennedy, who is now our Marketing Coordinator at Kennedy Training Network, got to meet Bob at a recent conference, and how special he made us both feel at that meeting. The picture is from the HSMAI ROC conference, held on June 29, 2023, which is the last day I saw him

But most of all, I remember Bob’s gentle, kind demeanor. Not only to those on the “customer” side of his world, such as HSMA members and vendor partners, but also to the HSMAI staff, and even to the waitstaff at HSMAI events. His kindness, loyalty, and humility should serve as a beacon for us all.

When I first saw his post about retiring due to a series illness I had just left for a long trip but intended to reach out and check on him upon my return. Right after I got back, I saw a picture he posted on Facebook of him with his family, and he looked well, so I guess I lost my urgency. Ironically, the day I finally got around to reaching out to him by phone was September 19, the very day of his passing. But of course! Even in his passing, Bob taught me one final lesson, there’s no better time than today to reach out and check on those who are facing challenges in life.

I encourage readers to visit Bob’s memorial wall, read more about this amazing man, and to share your own memories and tributes for his children and family to read. Truly, a life well lived.

Link to Bob Gilbert’s Tribute Wall

Doug Kennedy is President of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. a leading provider of hotel sales, guest service, reservations, and front desk training programs and telephone mystery shopping services for the lodging and hospitality industry. Doug continues to be a fixture on the industry’s conference circuit for hotel companies, brands and associations, as he has been for decades. Since 1996, Doug’s monthly training articles have been published worldwide, making him one of the most widely read hospitality industry authorities. Check out his monthly webcasts at www.KTNwebcast.com or visit www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com.