Membership Information

For our Lodging Members

The Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key West is the trade organization that represents the interests of the lodging industry in the Florida Keys. The Lodging Association represents more than 80% of all licensed lodging units in Key West and a growing number in the rest of the Keys. We have more than 75 owners and general managers as members.

Lodging is the single largest industry in the Keys and as such needs representation that protects our interests in every arena. This takes many forms � and includes everything from monitoring ordinances and laws that will affect our industry to advocating events that will sustain our tourism. Currently we are working keys wide on redevelopment ordinances that maximize smaller properties (fewer than 200 rooms) abilities to redevelop or upgrade their properties without loss of units. We work with the city and county regarding events and tourism interests to represent the voice of our industry. While many residents and politicians see our lodging facilities as an amenity that their guests or tourists use or as a place to hold a meeting or event � the reality is that lodging is one of the sustaining factors in our tourism industry.

For our Associate Members

Joining a trade association as an Associate Member is an important step in promoting your business and networking within your community. Companies who benefit from the presence of tourism in our area or who support the lodging industry through their products and services will see many benefits from a membership with the association. We encourage our lodging members to only do business with those who do business with us.

Benefits of a Lodging Association Membership

A Lodging Association Membership holds many benefits for both Lodging and Associate Members.

Interaction with Lodging Owners, General Managers, and Vendors

Meetings

Board Meetings: Held every 4 weeks to assure that the President and staff are working with our knowledgeable board to best represent the changing needs of the industry.
General Membership Luncheons: Held every 6 weeks. These provide relevant programs and speakers with presentations that are both informational and essential to our industry. These are done in a luncheon setting to minimize time away from the property while also providing great networking opportunities with other lodging and associate members. Meeting sponsorships are available; please contact the office for pricing.
General Membership Meetings in the Middle & Upper Keys: Held every 6 weeks these meetings allow our middle & upper Keys members a chance to meet with the President and their representatives from the Board of Directors. This group often addresses issues that are unique to their area of the Keys.
Hospitality Mixers: held twice annually at a lodging property to showcase one of our members and provide additional networking opportunities outside of the normal work hours.

Special Events

Annual Awards Banquet & Gala: This is the industries opportunity to come together to honor excellence in our industry and accomplishment in our membership.
Hospitality Open Golf Tournament: Held each spring, this excellent event pairs our lodging and associate members in a fun golf tournament with excellent prizes to raise funds for our educational programs and scholarships for Keys students pursuing an education in hospitality. This is our way of providing educational opportunities for our members and for Keys students who may be the future hospitality employees for our industry.
Annual Hurricane Conference in the Keys: This event is designed to provide the most up-to-date information for those in our industry who deal annually with the challenges hurricanes season presents. Through the combination of educational information and resource material, this event helps prepare managers and staff while also assuring our future guests that the lodging industry takes their safety seriously.
Fantasy Fest: provides a unique opportunity to represent our association and industry on an international level. Our association creates a unique float each year to represent our industry and we usually get award winning media coverage that reminds people that Key West and the Florida Keys are a special and interesting place that they must visit.
Trade Show & Hospitality Expo: that brings vendors and suppliers of relevance to the lodging industry to Key West to showcase their new products and special pricing. We understand that lodging properties in the Keys cannot easily send employees to national trade shows on the mainland. So we bring the trade show to the Keys.

Online Newsletter

Mailed weekly this informative e-newsletter keeps our members up to date on happenings throughout the community and the industry.

Website

With both public pages and our �members only� pages the marketing possibilities are endless! Listings of all of our members are on both sides of the site and links to your website are available for an additional charge.
Advertising for members is now available � call the office for pricing.

Membership Information

For more information on becoming a member please contact the Lodging Association Office.