Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association

Posted by Barry Connor

Ann-Marie Adams-Arrington spoke to the Bluffton Rotary on January 2, 2008 about the Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association. Ann-Marie has been executive director of the association for the last 1-1/2 years. The Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association is a member organization representing the food and beverage, accommodations, luxury services, and hospitality related businesses on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton, South Carolina. The Association is a non-profit organization that supports the local tourism industry by designing, developing and implementing programs, festivals and member networking opportunities explicitly intended to attract visitors to the Hilton Head area. The Association also works to increase awareness of the hospitality industry's presence and contribution to the economic viability of the local community.

Two signature events produced by the Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association are FoodFest and WineFest. The first FoodFest was held in 1997 and has continued to grow in popularity each year. More than 4,000 local residents and visitors attended the event last year, with the number expected to increase this year with the expansion of the festival's timeframe from a five-hour one-day offering to a multi-day food focused celebration. A celebration that includes more than 13 events and activities - some free of charge and some ticketed for admission. Whether wine is your livelihood, your avocation, your hobby, or just something you'd like to learn more about, WineFest is the event that pleases many palates. WineFest's public tasting provides the opportunity for attendees to taste more than 1000 different wines and to meet, talk with, and learn from some of the world's most knowledgeable wine experts. Money raised at these events is used to supplement the Heritage Foundation scholarship program for hospitality-related majors.

Since 2003,the Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association has offered the Hilton Head Island Ambassador Certification Program.. The goal of the Hilton Head Island Ambassador Certification Program is to raise the level of awareness and service of the local hospitality industry by instilling a sense of ownership and pride in the Hilton Head Island area. The program represents an ongoing education, recognition, and reward program for businesses, employees, residents, and visitors. It is not the Association's goal to provide unlimited information, but instead to raise an individual's awareness of their community - its uniqueness, its opportunities and resources.