Celebrating Outstanding Front-Line Hospitality Workers Through Life-Changing Grants

Hospitality continues to grapple with a labor shortage, and the U.S. hotel industry’s employment is tracking 8-10% below pre-pandemic levels, according to Skift estimates based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other industry data. Furthermore, according to a June 2025 Skift Meetings survey, nearly three-quarters of planners (72%) said they expect staffing, especially among front-line hospitality workers, to be impacted even more in 2025 and 2026.

Meanwhile, the meetings industry is as highly valued as ever among professionals looking for important business and human connections. There’s a huge workforce both in front of the house and behind the scenes to make each moment memorable, and those individuals are increasingly under pressure to do more with the same. 

In response to the challenges facing those dedicated to keeping the heart and humanity in hospitality, The Above and Beyond Foundation (TAABF) recognizes, rewards, and supports outstanding individuals employed on the front lines to help them attain their personal and professional goals. While other hotel companies and hospitality organizations have recognition programs, TAABF is the only industry foundation committed to awarding life-changing monetary grants. 

Skift Meetings recently spoke with Mary Jo Blythe, founder and CEO of The Above and Beyond Foundation, to learn about the organization, its mission, its impact, and what leaders in travel and hospitality can do to give back to their industry. 

Skift Meetings: What was the inspiration to start The Above and Beyond Foundation? 

Mary Jo Blythe: After celebrating the success of my company Masterplan’s 25th anniversary, I wanted to do something to  “give back” to the industry.  When I started to explore industry-related charities, I couldn’t find one that resonated with me. I was looking for something that focused on the millions of workers who are the backbone of the industry. I wanted to do something to show my appreciation for all those unsung heroes who contributed greatly to the success of my events. 

Why do you think there hasn’t been another organization like this in the industry?

When speaking to industry colleagues, they are typically shocked that we are the only foundation that awards grants at this financial level. There are definitely industry recognition organizations, but to my knowledge, we are the only one awarding grants that truly change lives. 

I honestly don’t know why there isn’t another organization like TAABF. But now everyone in our industry has a place to give back to the unsung heroes of our industry. 

How does the donation and award process work? What are the different types of awards that you give? 

Our grant award frequency is 100% reliant on donations. We have two grant categories: Hero of Hospitality, awarding $5,000, and Heart of Hospitality, awarding $10,000. 

Nomination forms for each type of grant, along with criteria, are found on our website. We accept online nominations from senior management, and nominations are good for one year. 

How do you choose recipients? 

Our board vets every nomination once it is received. We ask for specific examples of how the candidate embraces our guiding principles of outstanding service. If the candidate meets all the criteria, the nomination is accepted and is placed in a queue awaiting funding. 

We conduct award ceremonies as often as possible, based on our donations. Every nomination demonstrates the dedication of the individual and often reveals some sort of hardship. Although our mission is to recognize and reward, we have come to realize that almost every one of these individuals is dealing with some sort of personal misfortune. 

Can you share a story or two that encapsulate why TAABF exists? 

We had one winner whose home had burned to the ground shortly after her nomination was submitted. After notifying her management that she was accepted for an award, they called us back to let us know that she had just lost her home, and the timing for the award could not have been better. The day after losing her home, and to underscore her commitment, she called her boss to inform him of the fire and apologized that her uniform would smell like smoke that day, but she would be prompt to work. 

We had another winner who, unbeknownst to her employer, was living with her two daughters in an apartment with not a stick of furniture other than mattresses on the floor — not even a lamp for the girls to be able to see their homework. She was living paycheck to paycheck, so furniture was something she would probably never be able to afford. She was awarded the Heart of Hospitality award two weeks before Christmas. She was able to celebrate a warm and wonderful Christmas, surprising her daughters on Christmas morning with a sofa, dining room table, TV, and Barbie Dolls. If it weren’t for the award, she would not have had gifts for her daughters for Christmas, let alone furniture. 

Finally, we had another winner who was honored with the Heart of Hospitality award. Upon receiving information on where to send the funds, he asked if we could send them directly to the hospital where his 20-year-old daughter was having cancer treatments. 

We have story after story of how our awards are changing lives for the better. 

More broadly, what do you see as your contribution to the industry in terms of increasing and scaling awareness for these types of dedicated recognition awards? 

The true spirit of hospitality lies within so many of our front-line workers. They work tirelessly, sometimes in the same position for dozens of years, and they do it with a smile. We offer a means to truly thank and reward them on behalf of all the professionals, like me, that owe a great portion of my career success to the people in their position, both behind the scenes and front-of-house. 

Another contribution TAABF has made to the industry is elevating the pride and position of our winners. These individuals inspire their colleagues, communities, and family members. They are a testament to the fact that striving to go above and beyond in your work does pay off.

In terms of awareness, we have been fortunate to have many of our industry organizations recognize and embrace TAABF. We have received sponsorships and have presented awards at many industry conferences, including PCMA, FICP, IRF, SITE, and MPI. TAABF has no marketing budget, as our goal is to spend as much of our donations as possible on awards, so we are relying on our board members, advisory council, our industry organizations, and anyone who has seen one of our awards ceremonies to help us market and spread the word about TAABF. We want to remain a pure “charity” where our supporters will feel confident that the majority of the amount they donate is going straight to our grant funding. Based on the number of nominations we receive, this grassroots approach is working for the moment. Through our awareness, we hope to increase our donations. We’re always looking for economical ways to encourage more donations. 

There are so many organizations out there that give to charities. Why do you think TAABF should be at the top of the list for those invested in hospitality? 

I am personally very passionate about the work we are doing and have seen firsthand what TAABF is doing for our industry. If you are a professional in the hospitality industry who owes a fraction of your success to our front-line workers and is looking to give back, there is no better charity for you than TAABF. It’s a simple choice. I believe that’s why so many of our donors give annually. They believe in what we are doing and feel good that there is a charity they can connect with. 

We’ve had many individuals outside of our industry donate as well. They connect us with their work travel experiences and their vacation life. They recognize and appreciate how our grant recipients have contributed to making life-long memories for them and their families. 

What are your biggest challenges as you build toward your goals, both near and long-term? 

As a professional running a company, you can grow your business through earning more clientele and scaling. Running a charity is much different, since you can’t “earn” your funding: You need to ask people to give! It’s frustrating as the growth is much slower and less under your control. 

Earlier this year, we surpassed $1 million in grant awards. It was a huge milestone for us, considering we started with nothing but an idea. But once we proved our concept, and people witnessed our impact, we were on our path. We are on our quest for our next million-dollar milestone, which we are hoping to hit by 2028. 

My dream is to have enough funding to award all of our nominations on a weekly basis. Can you imagine how our industry-wide service level would increase if every front-line worker knew about TAABF and knew they were “in the running” for our awards on a regular basis? Not only would we celebrate our Above and Beyonders, but the service level would elevate to a level we have yet to experience. We are hoping everyone in our industry will understand this, embrace us, support us, and spread the word. TAABF unites our entire industry! We are always looking for well-connected industry colleagues who are passionate about our mission to join our AC and help spread the word and inspire donations/sponsorships for future grants.

To donate to The Above and Beyond Foundation, please visit https://www.taabf.org/. Contact [email protected] to get involved or learn more.

This article is part of Skift Elevate, an initiative committed to driving positive change across the travel industry. Together, we aim to build a more inclusive and responsible future that enriches lives and makes a lasting impact on our world.

This content was created collaboratively by The Above and Beyond Foundation and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.