Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1498279
I t's been decades and Andrew 'Andy' Ingraham, the passionate and charismatic prime mover of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators, & Developers (NABHOOD) hasn't skipped a beat or missed a step in his robust advocacy for Black advancement within the hotel and hospitality industry. The progression manifestation may be sluggish, but Ingraham has remained doggedly determined and sin- gularly focused when it comes to Blacks ascending to the executive suite, making money moves as vendors, and becoming thriving hotel owners. So much so, he said the thought, "keeps me up at night." It was in 1998 when he first got the idea to help African Americans make a significant impact in hotel ownership, investing, and supplying. At that time Ingraham was the founder of The Multicultural Tourism Summit & president of Horizons Marketing Group. He and Solomon Herbert, the publisher of Black Meetings & Tourism Magazine, brought together a group of African American tourism professionals with the idea of forming an association to help develop and increase the number of African- American-owned hotels. In 2001, Ingraham launched the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers (NABHOOD), which advocates for minority ownership and development in the hotel and hospitality industry. "My one and only responsibility at NABHOOD is to increase the number of African Americans owning and operating and investing in hotels," said Ingraham. "Everything else is secondary." Since he founded NABHOOD, Ingraham, whose vision is for all people of color, said the climate is dif- ferent. "Everything is changing," he said. "Hotels are also recognizing that their customer is changing. America is becoming more brown. Hotels have decided to diversi- fy their ownership base." Ingraham, whose parents wanted him to be a priest or a lawyer, said NABHOOD started an education campaign in 2001 – to emphasize how African Americans can get into hotel ownership. Ironically, when he was growing up in the Bahamas, Ingraham, whose first job was as a dishwasher, was for- bidden from working in the hotel industry. "My mom didn't see it as an opportunity to grow," he said. "She didn't know any execs in the industry. She only knew maids and doorman – not that there is any- thing wrong with that." Today, Ingraham, the founder/president/CEO of NABHOOD, runs the day-to-day operations of the highly respected organization. BY DARLENE DONLOE CONTINUES TO ADVOCATE FOR BLACK ADVANCEMENT "My one and only responsibility at NABHOOD is to increase the number of African Americans owning and operating and investing in hotels," NABHOOD PRESIDENT ANDY INGRAHAM B M & T ••• May/June 2023 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 17