In our struggling economy certain “excess” industries are taking a hit, and according to Larry Luteran, the meetings industry is one that is mislabeled and dismissed during these hard times.

On April 8, 2009, the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) welcomed Larry Luteran, senior vice president of group sales and corporate relations for Hilton Hotels Corporation, to speak to STHM’s program and special event planning class in Speakman Hall as part of the Executive in Residence series.

Throughout his presentation, Luteran stressed the important role the meetings industry plays, arguing, “Meetings and events are a large part of not only our economy, but our society.” However, as Luteran pointed out, this business is lumped in with the “excess” industries that are suffering losses and lacking government support during this recession.

So what’s being done about it? As Luteran explained, business leaders are collaborating with one another to promote the events industry and combat the mislabeling of the business as being excessive.

“When people are in trouble, what do they do? They get together and meet,” said Luteran. Luteran encouraged Temple students to take action not only to help the events industry, but to kick-start their own careers. Advising his audience to get started by finding internships, networking and developing a plan for advancement, Luteran even showed his support for the students by offering to pay for their first year of membership to Meeting Professionals International (MPI), an organization for which Luteran is the chair of the international board of directors.

As a representative of all Hilton Hotels, consisting of Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, the Waldorf Astoria collection, Hilton Grand Vacations, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites and Conrad hotels, Luteran has a great deal of experience with hospitality and salesmanship. He offered tips to STHM students on how to be successful salespeople in the hospitality business, stressing the importance of maintaining personal relationships with clients. “In this industry, you can’t be great without being friendly,” said Luteran. And his audience received the message.

“I found it very interesting and agreed with what he had to say about the importance of relationships,” commented Evan Cooper, senior STHM student.

Sharing his story of how he was introduced to the hospitality industry, Luteran showed that “just getting in” can have huge rewards. Beginning as a waiter at a Hilton’s fine dining restaurant after graduating from college, Luteran climbed the business ladder to become today’s senior vice president of group sales and corporate relations for Hilton Hotels Corporation. Though his journey to success required a great deal of time and effort, Luteran assured STHM students that hard work and dedication really do pay off in this industry. “If you remember one thing remember this, whatever you give in to this industry, you’ll get everything back tenfold,” said Luteran. Luteran’s career serves as a clear example of the merit in this advice.
“He is one of the most knowledgeable and in-depth meeting and hotel executives in the industry,” added Harith Wickrema, STHM professor and owner of the successful Harith Productions Ltd. As Luteran’s successful career and informative advice testify, the hospitality and events industries offer great opportunities for Temple’s STHM students.