WASHINGTON (May 18, 2023) – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the International Food and Beverage Technology Association (IFBTA) today announced a new strategic partnership that will more closely align the two associations to benefit their respective members and advance technology within the hospitality and foodservice industries. 

The partnership will enhance AHLA’s connectivity to food and beverage technology content and key industry suppliers while expanding IFBTA’s organizational reach by aligning it with America’s largest hotel association.

The new agreement includes the following areas of collaboration:  

• IFBTA and AHLA will become association partners, wherein IFBTA becomes an AHLA Association Member and AHLA becomes an IFBTA Association Member 
• A representative from AHLA’s technology committee, HTNG, will serve as a member of the IFBTA Board of Directors
• An IFBTA representative will serve as a member of AHLA’s Food & Beverage Committee and will also support and promote AHLA’s HTNG initiatives
• IFBTA and AHLA will support relationships with key food and beverage thought leaders, innovators, and industry suppliers 
• IFBTA membership will be provided as an included benefit of AHLA membership, to include access to IFBTA resources, chapters, education, and events

“Lodging and food and beverage are the cornerstones of hospitality, and this partnership brings together two of the most important associations in these areas,” said AHLA Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Kevin Carey. “The technology education capabilities and global F&B reach IFBTA brings to AHLA will be valuable assets to our association and its members.”

“Although food and beverage technology has long been at the intersection of the hospitality and foodservice industries, they have often been split between those operating hotels and those operating foodservice establishments,” said Rob Grimes, CEO of the IFBTA. “The partnership between the IFBTA and AHLA further solidifies the crossover and allows those from each industry to gather and share information with their professional counterparts. We are excited to support AHLA by providing additional networking, resources and educational opportunities to their membership.”

The agreement announced today is one in a series of recent AHLA partnerships that are enabling the organization to better serve its members and the hotel industry. Other examples include:

• AHLA’s partnership with the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Americas
• AHLA’s partnership with Questex to produce the industry-leading technology and operations trade show, The Hospitality Show
• AHLA’s 10-year agreement with HFTP to produce the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI)
• AHLA’s partnership with the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) to grow the hotel and hospitality industry workforce