It's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast

Harry Javer, Founder & President, The Lodging Conference Interviewed by Rachel Humphrey

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Harry shares how concert and event production experience led to founding The Lodging Conference. He discusses evaluating risk and how overcoming each challenge prepares him for the next challenge. Harry talks about public speaking, skill development, and continuous learning and the importance of each for career growth. And Harry shares why he'd tell his younger self to "chill out."

Rachel Humphrey:

I am Rachel Humphrey with d e I advisors. We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering personal success within the hospitality industry. And I am delighted today to be joined by Harry Jor, founder and president of the Lodging Conference. Harry, welcome to the show.

Harry Javer:

Hi, Rachel. How are you? Thanks for having me.

Rachel Humphrey:

Harry, I am really excited to spend some time with you today and get to share a lot of your journey and some of the insights that you've learned along the way. And I wanna jump right in with one of my favorites, which is your personal path to leadership. One of the things I love about the industry is that everybody's path is very unique to them, and no two people have to forge the same journey to end up in a leadership place. So tell us a little bit about you, about your background, and how you got to where you are today.

Harry Javer:

So in terms of leadership, I think I was drawn to that at an early age. I played a lot of sports growing up. You know, I grew up in Brooklyn and uh, I found, you know, I was captain of whatever baseball team I was on or whatever football team I was on in high school. I was the captain of the baseball team. I definitely was not the best player on the team. Not even close. As a matter of fact, I rode the bench in my senior year, but I was still the captain of the team. So I think I've just always been drawn to that. I think, uh, I have the ability to work as part of a team. I have the ability to lead the team, kind of that old saying of lead follow or get outta the way. And I think somewhere along the line I learned all three, uh, and how I got into hospitality. It was not planned. Uh, it was by accident. Uh, I started, uh, when I was in college, I went to Stony Brook University. I got involved in the, uh, concert program. So students would basically book acts, put on the shows, run the concerts, sell tickets, and it was with the student activities fee. So here I was basically 18, 19, 20 years old, and we were putting on concerts with Peter Gabriel and Santana and James Taylor and the Gogos, even U two. And it was just a, a phenom, phenomenal experience. Into, uh, the event business, into promoting events. Uh, I wasn't sure what I was gonna do when I got out of school. Uh, the plan was actually to go to law school, but I felt deep in my heart I was never going to be great at being a lawyer. I thought I would be better at business. So to make a long story short, A few years after college, I got a job at a company called the Learning Annex, which was growing rapidly. Uh, we, we went from six, uh, offices in six different cities to 15 very quickly, and I got great experience in all aspects of. Planning events, running events, selling tickets, and these are not, you know, we didn't run meetings for other people. We were seminar promoters. We would come up with ideas for, for classes, for seminars, promote them, advertise them, sell tickets, run them. And we did it all over the country. So it was a great experience, uh, for, you know, eight, eight years I did that. And then the company was sold and I had a non-compete. So I really was, was a little bit lost at the time and somebody suggested I check out B two B conferences. And honestly, at the time I did not know what a B two B conference was. No idea. So long story short, again, I ended up with this organization and the job was, well come up with ideas for, uh, for conferences and I came up with the lodging conference. Because there, there was a hotel show in New York at the time, still is at the Jacob Javit Center, and I just thought, well, this might be interesting. And I, and I went there and. Thought, well, okay, uh, this seems like a fun industry and, and, and maybe there's room for another event. What if it was a, uh, a very high level event, uh, at a beautiful resort? Would people come? And that was kind of the basis of the first conference, and that's how I got into the hospitality industry. It was totally by accident, totally not planned. When we did that first event, I knew very little about the hotel industry. I got on the phone and I talked to people and I met with them and I learned about the industry and, uh, I had the background in putting on events and, uh, the first event worked out. So we just continued year after year, building the conference and uh, and here we are, uh, 29 years later.

Rachel Humphrey:

I was gonna say approaching 30 years. That's really incredible and it, it's so many great lessons in there. Um, you know, we hear regularly how impactful youth sports and high school sports can be on future leadership. Taking a risk to go out and start your own initiative, getting into an industry that you didn't know anything about and having to learn it. Um, such important lessons, and I wanna talk about some of those in a couple minutes. But I do wanna talk about conferences for a second. And I love sharing why I've asked someone to be a guest advisor when I. Pivoted from the legal world. I wish I had followed your path and not gone to law school. When I pivoted from the legal world into the um, association world, the lodging conference was actually the first national event that I attended and very different from legal conferences. I was blown away by the importance of relationships, networking, learning. All of these things built into one place, and as you and I have become friends and partnered a lot over the last few years, I've also seen how important conference attendance is for branding yourself, for public speaking, for branding your company, whatever it is. Um, and so it's been a huge impact for me to see how something that I didn't know about, just like you didn't know about conferences, I really didn't either, and how really important that can be in career development as a conference. Host. Talk about why you think conferences are so important to the hospitality industry and why attending them wherever you are in your career journey can really be important for that growth and development.

Harry Javer:

Sure. So, you know, conferences, trade shows, they're important in any industry. Uh, look where else can you be and spend two, three days. Learning, networking, meeting new people, spending quality time with people that you already know. Whether it's a conference for 50 people, 500 people, or 5,000 people, you're definitely going to, to get a lot out of it. Uh, I, I would say go to as many conferences and events as you can. I try to go to, I don't know, 10, 15, 20 a year. I'd say I'm at about 15 to 20 events a year right now. And if I had more time, I would go to more. It's, it's, it's absolutely the best use of my time. And whether you are, especially if you are moving up the ladder in your industry, it's a great way to network and get out there and be exposed to new people and new things. Um, Yeah, I'm, I'm a big believer in the product.

Rachel Humphrey:

Yeah. I mean that, it has been a huge part of my growth and I, I definitely appreciate and understand that, um, you know, relating to conferences, we hear so much about public speaking being one of the biggest hurdles that people feel like they need to overcome. To continue to advance their careers as the host of the conference. You speak a lot during your conference. You also speak at other events here with me today. Um, have you always been comfortable, public speaking? How do you prepare? What types of advice would you give to someone who says, you know what, it may impact my career, but I am just not a public speaker and I'm not gonna develop that as a

Harry Javer:

skill. Yeah, I think you have to practice it. Uh, I certainly, you know, growing up I wasn't shy, I wasn't afraid to be around people. I was in the school play when time permitted, that kind of thing. Uh, and early in my career working at the learning, Ann, I had to introduce, I. Uh, speakers pretty much every night. So eventually I got comfortable at it. At first, I had to really practice it and make sure I was dialed in and had my, you know, script ready. But after a while I got used to it. And then I remember one event, we had an author, uh, he was the author of, um, it was Harold Kushner who wrote a book called When Uh, bad Things Happen to Good People. When bad things happen to good people. And I introduced it the other way. I said, when, when, you know, when good things happen to bad people, and, you know, he laughed. I was embarrassed. The audience laughed. But it, it taught me a lesson that, well, you know what? I wasn't prepared. Uh, I need to prepare more. And then I went and I took some courses. Uh, I took a Dale Carnegie course, I took another course on public speaking, and it helped. And, uh, even now, I. Uh, you know, I'll, I'll, I'll make sure I have my, my script. Whatever I'm gonna say, I practice it. I have it ready because, because the audience knows. Uh, I remember when, when I was, uh, involved with Stony Brook concerts, we had Peter Gabriel and a bunch of us were in his dressing room before he went on.'cause he wanted us to lead him in through the back, whatever. And it was really funny because he was this huge rock and roll star, you know, he had this great career with Genesis. And he was so nervous before the concert and his band mates were teasing him. And, and I, I just remember that thinking, well, if this guy could be nervous before he goes on, then it's okay to be a little nervous before you go on. It's probably good to have a little of that nervous energy, but definitely, you know, the advice I would give to anybody with public speaking is just practice. Just practice. And then when you get up there, you're going to be, you're going to be more relaxed.

Rachel Humphrey:

I love that and I think nerves are also a good sign of it. I think it means you're invested in it and you want to do what somebody has asked you to do. Um, you know, if people are interested in public speaking, um, what are some of the ways they can either get their, their name out there or get their interest out there if they've got a subject matter expertise, um, how are some ways that they can make sure they raise their hand?

Harry Javer:

Yeah. Uh, you know, get out there, write a book, write some articles, speak, you know, start small, uh, speak at, uh, a local event, speak at a Chamber of Commerce event. Um, people are always looking for speakers at every level, and your, your first experience does not have to be in front of a thousand people. I would say start small, um, and just practice.

Rachel Humphrey:

I. Yeah, that's great advice. I, I agree with that as well. Um, I wanna talk a little bit, you mentioned in your journey to leadership, starting your own business after, um, one that you had been with for quite a while, that road came to an end for you, that's a huge risk. Anytime you're starting a new business, anytime you're going into a new field. Talk a little bit about how you evaluate risk. Do you think you're a risk taker in general? And as, as you have opportunities to evaluate, what criteria are you taking into consideration? I.

Harry Javer:

You know, entrepreneurs have this, uh, tag that they're, that they're big risk takers, and some are, I'm definitely not. Uh, you know, I go back to, to baseball. I was always a singles hitter. Uh, I'm still a singles hitter. I play every weekend and I'm a singles hitter. And occasionally when the chance, uh, becomes available, I, I'll take an extra base. And, and I think the same way about business. Uh, be realistic. Uh, some people, they'll ask me about starting an event and they're talking about, you know, 2000, 3000 people. And I, and I say, well, you know, start small. Uh, it doesn't have to be huge to be successful. Um, you know, why take a huge risk. Why book a huge venue? Start small. If it works, you can do it again. You can do it again next year. You can do it again next month. I think, you know, Be realistic about, about your business idea. Uh, you know, that said, there are people who are home run hitters. I, I've worked with them, I respect them, and, uh, we need home run hitters. But, uh, that's not me. I'm, I'm, I'm less of a risk taker and more conservative, and that that formula has worked for me anyway.

Rachel Humphrey:

I like the idea and the concept of starting small too, to get your footing in, get your comfort, and continuing to grow. Um, you know, you mentioned public speaking as something that you developed during college, but then had ways of continuing that development. As the conference has grown and as your leadership role within the hospitality industry has grown, are there other. Skills that you said, you know what, I, I didn't have this from a prior career. I didn't learn this in school, but this is gonna be really important for me as I expand my business and set out to learn it.

Harry Javer:

You know, just networking. Uh, again, I was always outgoing, but I think networking at a business event is a little bit of a different skill. Uh, especially a lot of events. A lot of events in our industry. People tend to know each other, and if you are new you, you feel like an outsider. So you have to sort of go in with the attitude of, uh, PE people want to meet me. People are open to meeting me and just have a couple of, of easy icebreakers. You know, people like to talk about their families. In our industry, industry especially, they like to talk about their travels, hotels, they've been to. Uh, just what do you do? Um, how is your day, how is your trip to get here? Just have a couple of icebreakers when you go into that networking event and it, it's going to put you at ease and, and certainly, uh, most people, it doesn't matter what level they're at, vice president, senior vp, CEOs, they wanna meet people. They want to talk to people. Uh, just like you and I, uh, you have to know when to approach them. If, uh, if a very, you know, if a C E O is in, is in a big rush to get off the stage and get to his or her next meeting, that's probably not a good time. But if it's breakfast, if it's, uh, on the golf course, if it's in the evening at a party, that's gonna be a much better time probably to approach that person. But just, you know, go in with a plan and be relaxed.

Rachel Humphrey:

That's great advice. Well, no one who has achieved levels of leadership in this industry or any other has done it without challenges, without setbacks, obstacles, um, much like taking risks. What is your process when you do encounter something that isn't as successful as you hoped? How do you regroup and kind of get over that obstacle?

Harry Javer:

Y You know, the biggest challenge that, that I have had, No, there were many, but the biggest one comes to mind with the lodging conference is was nine 11. So on September 11th, we had a conference starting that night. It was our seventh annual conference, uh, in Phoenix. And you know, we had a huge crowd coming. And of course we know what happened next. And so after, you know, two hours, it became obvious that we had to cancel the conference. And we decided to reschedule it. We rescheduled it for January four months later. And, you know, we, we didn't know. Nobody knew at the time what was going to be. Uh, so we planned the conference for January and right away a lot of people canceled. If you remember, people just weren't flying. Corporations were forbidding some of their executives to fly. And so the next few months were, We're really hard. Uh, I remember October of 2001, November, it was just every day dealing with people canceling, uh, for one reason or another. They couldn't make it in January. So that was tough. And then around Thanksgiving, for whatever reason, uh, People started flying again. People started getting comfortable with traveling and people started registering again for the conference. And when January came around, we ended up with more people signed up than we had originally had on September 11th. Wow. But you know, the lesson it taught me was just, you know, put your head down, grind away. Uh, stick to the details and, and it's all gonna work out, and, uh, it did.

Rachel Humphrey:

Yeah. I mean, I remember working with you similarly through the pandemic postponements and other things, and the conference coming back afterwards and the strength of it now. You know, it's hard to imagine those 2001 years. The 2020, 21 years, things like that. So that's a great lesson for all of us. Yeah.

Harry Javer:

Yeah. And you know what, you know, thinking back to, to the pandemic, had nine 11 not happened, I would not have been prepared when the pandemic came, you know, because the worst case scenario with the pandemic was, okay, we're not going to have a conference this year and we'll just have it next year. And, and that's what happened. Mm-hmm. So, you know, uh, same thing throughout life, right? You, you learn lessons in high school, which help you in college. You learn lessons from your parents. In my case, my parents, my brother, which, you know, certainly helped me later on in life. And you, you just keep building on those events. And, uh, by the time you get to my ripe old age, uh, you just learn to, you just learn to shrug it off because, uh, tomorrow, you know, I. What, what? What's the song? The Sun will come out again tomorrow. I think that's true.

Rachel Humphrey:

Well, and you're right because we are all a work in progress. Everything you're learning today, you take some piece of you, keep with you what you've learned, and you may let some other things go, but we are all this work in progress and this continuous growth and is a theme we hear from a lot of leaders that you're always taking everything you've learned from whatever source it may be, and that becomes who you are each day. And it may change tomorrow. You may have a completely different skill or mindset tomorrow for something than you do today. Um, Harry, one of the things over the years that I've noticed is your, Um, continued growth and involvement with boards, associations, nonprofits, um, both within your community and then within the hospitality industry more broadly. And one of the things we hear is the tremendous leadership skills that some develop through those organizations. We all do it to feel good and to give back and a lot of those things, but that there's also a lot of leadership lessons that you can learn through those experiences. Has that been your experience and can you think of. Either a skill or a trait or two that maybe you developed through that work that would be different than you developed in your day job.

Harry Javer:

Uh, you know, obviously it's really important to give back. Uh, when you've attained some level of success and you've climbed the ladder, it's important to, to throw the ladder back down to other people. So getting involved with organizations, whether it be a H L A or a oa, uh, any of the industry organizations. Uh, is really important. Uh, I sit at, uh, uh, an a h l a board of directors meeting and I'm just blown away at how smart the people in the room are and, uh, you know, how much everybody gets done. Not just the association, but all the people in that room. And I just, you know, I, I just try to be a fly on the wall and, and take in as much as I can and, and I always leave with, uh, with something I. Uh, you know, I feel like I, I, I, I always leave those meetings smarter and in awe of, uh, of all the people in the room. I.

Rachel Humphrey:

Well, that's that same continuous learning concept of even sitting around your peers and being able to learn from whatever they're sharing. And I'm sure they are feeling the same about you. And certainly in going to conference, coming away feeling smarter than when we got there. Uh, you know, so many leaders nowadays are talking about the importance of champions, mentors, allies, whatever phrase you like to use in their careers, and the ability to want to identify. Rising talent within their organizations or outside of it to then do the same for them. Have you had the influence of different mentors in your, um, life and how has that really directed your career?

Harry Javer:

Sure, yeah. Well, growing up I had great mentors in, in my mother, my father, uh, my father was an entrepreneur. He had many different businesses. I had an older brother who, you know, taught me a lot and still teaches me a lot, uh, and, and. You know, now my, my group, you know, as you know, I work with my wife Liz, and, uh, she's a, uh, a huge mentor to me. Uh, my friends, I'm still friends with people from high school, from college, and I'll reach out to them, uh, often, uh, for advice. Uh, and you know, in terms of people in our industry, uh, I just try to, uh, again, listen and emulate. People like Arnie Sorenson, Tom Corcoran, uh, Mike Levin. When I have a really big problem that I can't solve, I'll call it Mike Levin. And, uh, his advice is always great and instantaneous and, uh, it's just wonderful to have a friend and a mentor like him in my life.

Rachel Humphrey:

Well, and that's certainly an incredible list of mentors and Liz as a mentor of mine, as is Mike as well. So, um, yeah, absolutely. To identify people that can guide you or that are inspirational to you. Um, I wanna ask a little bit about having a personal brand or a personal mantra. You know, when you and I were, were growing up, nobody was talking about a personal brand, but it's so important now whether it's. Living, working by your values, whether there's something that you want to be seen for. At the end of the day, I'm more of a mantra person, but I'm a brand person. But I'm wondering if you have either A, an idea of your brand or a personal mantra that guides your decision making process. I.

Harry Javer:

You know, I always say to my team when it comes to a customer or client, uh, just put yourself in their shoes. You know, that old, you know, that biblical saying do on to others. So I think that's really important to me, and I think, uh, under promising and over-delivering, uh, and, uh, just, you know, be flexible. Be flexible. I think I, I might've been Einstein who once said something like, uh, it's not the, the strongest or the fastest or the smartest, uh, who will, uh, be around for a long time. It's the most flexible. Hmm. Uh, so not to the point of being like Gumby. It doesn't mean, you know, be a doormat, but, but be flexible. Uh, roll with the punches.

Rachel Humphrey:

Well, I think we see that those leaders who've been successful in our industry, especially given some of the challenges of the last few years, flexibility has been a must. And looking at things through a customer client vantage point, so important. Um, you know, we are in the hospital. Hospitality industry. And so looking at things from that standpoint is really great. Um, I wanna turn to my favorite question, and the reason I love this, I hate about this before, is, um, I wanna talk about advice to our younger selves. And I really do think we are all a work in progress and that reflection becomes a really important part of our own personal growth. Can you tell me what would Harry today tell 21 year old Harry either about something you wish you knew then, or how things would play out for you down the road? I. Uh,

Harry Javer:

chill out. Don't be so serious. Uh, you know, a famous, uh, Bruce Springsteen song Someday, we'll look back at this and it will all seem funny. It, it really is. You know, just, it goes along with being flexible. Roll with the punches. A friend described it to me as be a duck. You know, let things bounce off if you don't take them so seriously. Uh, I, I think, you know, take all of those, uh, bits of advice, uh, that's what I would tell, uh, the younger Harry, don't worry it, it's all gonna work out. Uh, and, and it does. So,

Rachel Humphrey:

so far we've learned life lessons from Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, and a slew of other musical performers. I can see definitely Harry Ware. Uh, your learning curse comes from. Um, and that's great advice. It's incredible to me how many leaders I hear say that same advice, chill out. Don't they take things too seriously? And maybe that's that initial drive that, that drives people into leadership and then reflecting back, would you end up in that same place? But, um, we are, you know, wrapping up here on time and I really wanted to turn to the motto of, D e i advisors, which is to empower personal success and ask you if you have, um, any final advice you would give to our listeners who are looking to maybe take their career to the next level or to continue learning from one another on something that you would, um, recommend or something maybe that's been successful for you,

Harry Javer:

for somebody starting out in their career. And you know, my son is starting out in his career. He is 26 years old, so I give him the same advice. You really, it's that old saying. Uh, do what you love and success and money and everything else will follow. I think the worst thing in the world is, is being at a job day in, day out that you just don't like or, or you're not cut out for. Uh, that would be the most important thing. I think the second thing. Certainly that's worked for me is just work hard. Uh, I don't know of anybody who has found any kind of success in business, in life that has not worked hard at it. Uh, very few things are going to come easy. You have to put in the reps, you have to put in the time. Again, I guess that gets back to baseball, right? Practice. Uh, so do what you love, work hard, uh, and and, and just do on to others. And I think if you could do those three things, it's all gonna work out fine.

Rachel Humphrey:

Well, I love that. And what a great way to wrap up today, Harry, on behalf of the hospitality industry, my personal career or friendship, thank you so much for all that you do to lead us and to give back to the industry. And really thank you for supporting d e I advisors on our motto and our mission to empower personal success.

Harry Javer:

Thanks. It was a pleasure.

Rachel Humphrey:

And to our audience listening, we hope you've enjoyed, uh, your time with us today, and we hope you'll head over to dei advisors.org and hear from over a hundred industry leaders who have likewise shared their personal journeys and insights that they've learned along the way. Thank you for joining us.