The Association of Human Resource Managers in the Hospitality Industry (AHRM) was founded as an informal group in 1974 by four HR practitioners when there were only three major international hotels in the Philippines. The Hilton, the Hyatt and The InterContinental. A fourth hotel, the Philippine Village Hotel was built that year to accommodate the candidates of the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, which was held in Manila the same year.

In 1976, the informal group grew to thirteen when the Philippine government offered incentives to hotel developers to build new hotels to accommodate the delegates expected for the International Monetary (IMF) Congress. Among the chains that opened that year were The Mandarin, The Peninsula, The Westin, Ramada, Holiday Inn, Silahis and Sheraton. The Manila Hotel also reopened that year.

Between 1992-1995, more hotels opened in the country. The Edsa Shangri-La, The Manila Diamond, The Makati Shangri- La Manila, New World Hotel, the Heritage Hotel, Manila Galleria Suites, Holiday Inn, Tagaytay Highlands, Evercrest Batulao an Punta Baluarte. The Association grew to 30 members then.

In 1993 the members initiated a change in the association’s name to its present name AHRM. It was originally name the Association of Personnel Managers of Philippine Hotels and Restaurant (APMHR). The new name was a play on the word "arm" or "bisig" which the association symbolizes as service. The members felt the new name was more reflective of the nature of the industry it represented, the service industry.

In 1996, the first provincial chapter was founded in Cebu with ten hotels and resorts as initial members. It was reestablished in October, 2012 with 38 member establishments.

In 1997, the second provincial chapter was founded in Davao, which had a membership base of fifteen.

In the year 2000, AHRM became the host of the first ever "Asia Pacific Conference of Human Resources Management in Hotels and Restaurants" or HR2 for short. The event was held at the EDSA Shangri-la Manila with over 200 domestic and international delegates in attendance.

Speakers to the conference included: Akiko Takahashi, group director of human resources for Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts; Jennie Chua, president and chief operating officer (COO) of the Raffles International Limited; Pakir Singh, chief executive of the Singapore Hotel Association and secretary general of the Asean Tourism Association (ASEANTA); Ichigo Umehara, president of Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts and vice president of the International Hotel and Restaurant Association; Lyndall DeMarco, corporate director of education for Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts; Jose Jesus U. Deduque, director for strategic HR consulting at Watson Wyatt; and Lynette V. Palma, director for strategic rewards consulting at Watson Wyatt.

Four consulting companies conducted workshops during the conference. They were Andersen Consulting, Hewitt Stratt Asia, Oracle and Watson Wyatt Philippines. All four addressed the growing concerns and development in human resources in the hospitality industry.