You don’t work 30-plus years in the hotel and travel industry without accruing a few great stories and important lessons. Such is the case with Bruce Himelstein, who started as a bellman and worked his way up to becoming chief sales & marketing officer for The Ritz-Carlton.

Himelstein – the keynote speaker for the upcoming ASI Show Fort Worth, taking place from March 4-6 –  recalls working at one of the Marriott hotels in Florida that would be frequented every Christmas week by hotel luminary Bill Marriott and his family. Mr. Marriott (as Himelstein calls him) would set his alarm for the wee hours of the morning so he could wake up to say hello to the overnight crew.

“Arguably the most successful exec in the hotel industry worldwide – he’s getting up at 3 a.m. to say to the dishwasher, ‘How’s it going, how you doing?’” recalls Himelstein. “Even when you reach that level, to be able to engage with people in all levels of an organization, I don’t care [if your company] is two people or 10,000 people – that’s what gains you the experience, the respect, the credibility to grow your business.”

Recognized as “One of The Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing” by The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, Himelstein joined Promo Insiders to discuss the lessons promo companies can take from the hospitality industry, and which skills he considers “lost arts.”