When I read the
obituary of Alan Fleschner in the March 12 issue of Travel Weekly, I was reminded of many things about Alan, both from a personal and professional perspective.
He was a wonderfully kind and generous individual with a spectacular sense of humor, and he enjoyed everything and everyone around him. Alan was my friend and professional colleague for more than 30 years.
He contributed much to many people's careers in travel, most especially mine. When Alan was the publisher of the Official Hotel and Resort Guide, I was a hotel client. Over a series of wonderful lunches at our favorite restaurant, Berulia, in New York City he convinced me to leave my hotel career and to join OHRG as his ad director.
This was a pretty bold move, but vintage Alan, and it changed my life. We began to travel the world together, visiting hotel clients in every market. This was mercifully before the Internet age, and we actually met with people face to face, from ITB to Tianguis and World Travel Market and back again. As I write this, I know many people will read this and well remember this time in our careers.
When Alan was named publisher of Travel Weekly, he recommended that I become publisher of OHRG, a position I held for several years and through two changes of ownership. Throughout this time, Alan was a colleague, friend and adviser. It's been a long time since I took over OHRG from Alan, but his memory, and most importantly, his presence has always been a part of my subsequent moves in the travel industry.
Thanks, Alan, for all that you did for all of us.
Bill Lawrence, director, hotel partner solutionsCCRA Travel Solutions
Fort Worth, Texas
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