HANMI opens membership to non-hotels
One of the Commonwealth’s leading business organizations, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands (HANMI) announced today that it is opening its membership to non-hotel businesses for the first time. The new category of membership, called “Allied Members” will be available starting in January to interested companies that do business with the local hotel industry.
According to HANMI president Ronald D. Sablan, the decision to expand the organization’s membership is an effort by the association to increase support for the hotel industry among the general business community.
“We have gotten a number of requests from other businesses to join our Association over the years. These are companies that do business with our members and would like to assist us and join HANMI’s strong voice on both tourism and economic issues. Support services and related businesses like golf courses, airlines and vendors we work with all year long have similar interests in issues and the health of our tourism industry as a whole.”
Mr. Sablan says HANMI studied other associations, including the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association and the Hawaii Hotel Association and patterned its new membership scheme after these organizations.
The annual dues for allied members will be a fixed $300, while hotels pay for their membership on a fixed fee plus per room basis. The definition of an allied member, according to HANMI, is “Companies or persons interested in the improvement of the hotel industry in the CNMI, which have met the requirements for admission to the Association and have been approved by the general membership.”
Founded in 1983, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands is a professional organization made up of 18 leading hotels representing over 3,444 rooms or 79% of the total hotel rooms in the CNMI.
The purpose of the association is to support and encourage cooperation among member hotels by providing a forum for sharing ideas on issues of common concern. All members are expected to participate in the association’s community betterment projects and follow the association’s code of ethics and standards.
For more information about membership in the hotel association, interested parties are invited to contact any of the existing members for an application. HANMI has a website at www.marianashotels.org. All new members will be listed on the organization’s website as one of the benefits of membership.
