JULY 17, 2008. Hotel sales staff will convene for a full-day of discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008 at the Second Annual HSMAI Hotel Sales Strategy Conference in Washington, D.C. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The conference is designed to add even greater value for hotel sales staff attending HSMAI's Affordable Meetings(R) National and Event Technology Expo(TM), which follows on Sept. 10-11, 2008. It provides an additional component of targeted, educational programming and creates a venue for timely dialogue among hotel sales staff. Each attendee will receive a free copy of the newly released Demystifying Distribution 2.0 (a $99 value) TIG Global special report published by the HSMAI Foundation.

Kicking off the conference is a keynote on "Successfully Selling in a Changing Global Economy, 5-3-1," presented by John Parke, CMP, president and CEO of Leadership Synergies, Inc. Attendees will learn five global trends that will affect hotel sales in 2009, three strategies to outperform today's hyper-competitive marketplace and one thing hotels should do tomorrow to combat the changing economy.

"The economy is top of mind among hotel sales staff," said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI. "As several travel industry experts speculate about the length of time the industry will take to bounce back from potential recession, hotel sales staff want to know what they can do today to maintain and increase bookings."

Other educational sessions include:
• Maximizing Your Sales & Marketing Channels
• 2008 Customer Trends
• The Voice of the Customer
• The Changing Face of Today's and Tomorrow's Sales Teams
• Roundtables with Results

Conference partners include American Express, Cendyn and TIG Global. For more information on the Second Annual Hotel Sales Strategy Conference, or to view a full schedule, visit www.hdosm.org.

About HSMAI Hotel Sales Strategy Conference
The HSMAI Hotel Sales Strategy Conference is organized by HSMAI and HSMAI's Hotel Director of Sales and Marketing (HDOSM) SIG Advisory Board. The HDOSM SIG provides information, leadership development, and a variety of other resources specifically relevant to hotel directors of sales and marketing, to sales staff who aspire to one day be directors of sales and marketing, and to other industry professionals interested in developments within hotel sales. Their vision is to establish a resource-rich environment in collaboration with the HSMAI membership that is indispensable for the career professional in hotel sales and marketing. Visit www.hdosm.org for more information.