The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has announced it will honor Richard S. Kahn, president of KTCpr with the Winthrop W. Grice Lifetime Achievement Award for public relations excellence during its annual Adrian Awards Gala on 24 February 2014 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Kahn was chosen as the Grice winner due to outstanding dedication to his work and to the education of future hospitality professionals throughout his career. Kahn joins the list of “who’s who” in public relations excellence, such as Donald Trump and Steve Wynn who were both previously honored with the award.
A Caribbean travel specialist, Kahn is best known in the Caribbean for his work with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) over the past 23 years.
During the 1970s and 80s, Kahn worked at Travel Agent Magazine leaving as Associate Publisher to form his own boutique public relations firm.
However, during his 22 years as a journalist, Kahn served two terms as President of the New York Travel Writers Association and once as Vice Chairman of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Northeast Chapter and was a vocal critic of poor public relations.
Poor writing, unnecessary badgering and misguided press releases were among his key complaints which turned Kahn into an outspoken critic about public relations professionals with a tunnel vision objective to please their clients – not to serve the needs of the writers and editors.
Many of Kahn’s travel writer colleagues and friends were surprised that he launched a public relations firm after such hard criticism of the field over the years. Kahn decided to hire fresh out of college, a procedure he continues to this day, and train individuals to practice public relations by focusing on the media needs and not just the client’s desires. “If you become a resource for the media, they will cover the clients when appropriate,” he says.
http://ktcpr.com