Legendary Hospitality's Bruce Craul, Chair of Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is pleased to announce Bruce Craul, COO with Legendary Hospitality, Inc., is the 2012 Chairman of the Board. Bruce’s service to the Association includes:  2007 Interim Destin Chapter President, 2008 Destin Chapter Representative, 2009 Executive Committee Member and Northwest Florida Chapter Representative, 2010 Secretary-Treasurer, Executive Committee and Northwest Florida Chapter Representative, 2011 Chairman-Elect Officer, Executive Committee.

For a full biography, read the December/January 2012 of the FR&L Magazine.

Florida Visitors Will Pay More for Hotels This Thanksgiving

You may have been watching Christmas commercials on TV since August, but believe it or not, the official start to the holiday season isn’t until next week. And it looks your relatives will be paying more for a hotel room this Thanksgiving.

While overall committed occupancy is holding steady, only up 0.3% from this time last year, average daily rate (ADR) is up 4.7%, according to business intelligence data from TravelClick.

Travelers will find themselves paying a bit more for rooms in the following locations:  Tampa (5.3% more), Orlando (4.0% more) and Miami (6.4% more).

In terms of occupancy, here is how Florida hotels will breakdown this coming week:

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Cooking Classes at Jackson's Steakhouse

Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa Partners with Clean the World

The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida is working with the organization Clean the World to help recycle used soaps and send them to needy countries around the world. The Westin is a Starwood property, which was the first corporate partner with Clean the World.

One hundred eighteen Starwood properties now donate soap products to the program, and The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa has donated the most. The Westin has donated more than 24,000 pounds of soap/bottled amenities in 1.5 years that they have been in the program.

It breaks down to 14,102 pounds of soap which is 75,000 used bars of soap which helps 15,042 kids for one month. Bottled shampoo: 9,950 pounds (106,000 used bottles of shampoo) which provided 7,000 kids with shampoo for one month.

Clean the World has a recycling plant in Orlando Florida. Some facts:

• Clean the World is the largest global recycler of hotel amenities and, in just two years of operation, has distributed more than 8 million bars of soap to children and families in the United States and more than 40 countries worldwide, including Haiti, Japan, Zimbabwe, Uganda, India, Honduras, Mexico and Albania.
• Using a proprietary and patent pending sanitization process, Clean the World soaks the soap in a sanitizing solution and then treats it with a steam/pressure combination.  Clean the World then tests the soap’s pH level and cools it for packaging.
• Each day, 9,000 children around the world die from diseases such as acute respiratory illness and diarrheal diseases that can be prevented by washing with bar soap. Clean the World Foundation has a mission to put soap in the hands of people who need it most -- to improve hygiene and sanitation conditions, to lessen the impact of disease, and to promote better hygiene and living conditions worldwide.

4th Annual Blues, Brews & BBQ

November 12, 2011
HarborWalk Village, Destin

Local restaurants will be firing up their grills for a good time and a great cause at the 4th annual Blues, Brews & BBQ on Saturday, November 12, 2011 from 12 to 4 p.m. at HarborWalk Village in Destin, Florida. The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association's Northwest Florida Chapter will host a creative and spirited BBQ competition. Tasting wristbands will be sold for $20 for guests to sample the all the award winning savory BBQ and over 20 cold craft beers. Proceeds from the event benefit FRLA's Prostart educational program which supports the next generation of hospitality professionals.

Brews and BBQ
Some of the restaurants participating in this year's culinary challenge include Harry T's Lighthouse, The Fish House, Great Southern Café, McGuire's Irish Pub, Fish Out of Water, The Shed BBQ & Blues Joint, Poppy's Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill, Hard Rock Café, Emerald Grande, and Sandcastles at Hilton Sandestin. Blues, Brews & BBQ is sponsored by Emerald Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pepsi and Miller Lite, Goldring Gulf Distributing, Skyy Vodka and Southern Wine and Spirits.

Last year's winners who took home the trophy and the bragging rights were Great Southern Café for Best Seafood BBQ; The Pensacola Fish House for most Unique/Creative/Originality; Legendary Emerald Grande for Best Traditional Taste/Flavor, and The Shed Barbeque and Blues Joint for Best Booth and People's Choice.

Blues
Don't miss the amazing Bill Wharton, "The Sauce Boss", performing on the main stage at HarborWalk Village. Since 1990, the Sauce Boss has cooked fresh gumbo on stage for his audiences, all for free, while simultaneously playing his own brand of swampy Florida's blues. A Sauce Boss event transcends a musical performance. It's a soul-shouting picnic of rock & roll brotherhood. And at the end of the show, everyone eats his homemade gumbo.

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