Remembering a Very Special Hotelier – By John J Hogan

There are people in our lives who make an enormous impact on us. Some of these are personal and some professional, and if we are fortunate, we have some who have an impact on both of those parts of our lives.

Howard Feiertag authored the very well received SALES CLINIC column for more than 3 decades for Hotel Motel Management magazine. I first learned on March the 7th from their online article that Howard  had passed away on March the 3rd.

In 2023, Howard was the oldest person I knew at age 94 and I already miss him.  I  had the privilege of knowing him for more than 35 years. The Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association used to sponsor and provide many professional seminars and  workshops for brands and management companies. We found ourselves presenting to more than several dozen management company and brand  programs in the late 1980s into the mid-1990s. Howard would  discuss sales and marketing, and I would frequently cover operations, customer service  and industry certifications.

I knew he was not well in recent years, yet he kept on going even through Covid. I had been calling him every two to three weeks for the last six months, as I knew his health was inconsistent. The last time I spoke with him was on February 20^th when he was preparing to go back to the hospital for a follow up, and he was his usual, talkative, upbeat self.

From a professional perspective, I had the opportunity to retain Howard for an annual convention for one of the world’s largest hotel brands. He was one of 4 optional educational programs offered that were repeated three times in a given day for the brand annual convention. Each of those rooms was set for 100 people and we had to bring in 100 more chairs for Howard’s first program. The two final sessions were set for 300, and still standing room only!  That kind of attention says something about the kind of person he was and the positive, constructive messages that Howard consistently delivered.

Howard approached  his programs  not as a lecturer, but as a friend, a mentor, and as one who took a serious topic and made it understandable. Many people today still shy away from sales because they think of sales as the stereotype of the used car salesman. Howard took the topic of sales, and he made it real. He made it something that could and should be providing a needed service to customers for a fair price.  He showed that sales should  not be something to fear.

Who was Howard?  He was a professional who enjoyed people and never used his credentials and name recognition to impress people.

Howard enjoyed cruises and interacting with everyone.  He loved being with family and friends, and often flirted (in an endearing, non-threatening way) with people to make everyone feel at ease and welcome.  The last time I personally saw him was in 2018  for dinner when I was presenting a certification program in a city near to Virginia Tech.

Howard was often recognized and honored, and this brief four-minute YouTube is worth watching.

I appreciated a number of things that Howard shared over the years.  One was that he regularly said he never looked for a job.  He performed his duties well and people came looking for him. He was asked to give teaching at Virginia Tech a 5-year run in the late 1980s and the last time I checked, I believe he was there for 30+ years.

Did he have an impact? Look at this listing of the best hospitality programs in the world.  Virginia Tech ranks #12 and also note the name of the department – Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management    Yes, Howard had an impact.

Here is the official recognition from Virginia Tech on Howard.

Final thoughts

I have conducted more than 6,000 classes, workshops, seminars., certification programs and keynote speeches in my career to. One learns how to effectively communicate in your own style and Howard had a very special way of doing it.

In every class he presented, his opening comments were: “Hello, Howard.” This often-brought people confusion because he was Howard, but it broke the ice regardless of the size of the class or the sophistication of the attendees.   He made people feel appreciated and valued.

What I would like to say to you, Howard is:

Thank you, Howard. You made a difference. We will miss you.

John J Hogan, CHA CHMS CHE CHO

John is a career hotelier and educator.  He has been affiliated in management roles with Sheraton, Hilton, Dunfey (now Omni), Best Western HQ, Park Suite (now Embassy Suites), Med Center Inns of America and independent properties. He taught as an adjunct professor for more than 20 years at 3 different colleges and conducted more than 6,000 classes and workshops in his career to date.

John is co-founder and CEO of HospitalityEducators.com and the principal of Hogan Hospitality, which provides litigation support, expert witness services and hotel consulting. HospitalityEducators.com completely updated and facilitated the Certified Hotel Owners program for AAHOA (world’s largest hotel owners’ group) from 2012-2018 with more than 500 days of programs, with a participant approval rating of over 97% and more than 1800 certifications. He has written several hundred articles and more than 225 blogs for industry publications and has been recognized with awards of excellence from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and international hotel brands. He is currently working with others on several new projects including an eBook series on hotel operations and sales, select keynote programs, hospitality services and columns. Specific services and keynote topics can be found at johnjhogan.com