In partnership with HOTEL MANAGEMENT, AAHOA is hosting the second of a seven-series event called Hotel ROI next Thursday, June 22, in Los Angeles. AAHOA Vice Chairman Hitesh (HP) Patel will offer opening remarks, and AAHOA South Pacific Regional Director and Ohm Culture Hospitality CEO Timesh (Timmy) Patel will speak during the morning's "Maximizing Revenue" panel. AAHOA members receive an exclusive discounted rate to this conference using promo code AAHOA50. Interested attendees can learn more and register for Los Angeles or one of the five remaining cities at www.hotelroi.com.

We’re pleased to announce AAHOA’s Call for Speakers page has been launched! AAHOA continues to grow and is recognized as a main industry resource for hoteliers. This Call for Speakers seeks to capture relevant information for potential speakers who want to be considered for any of our upcoming events. Ideal speakers will have an expertise in the hospitality industry, more specifically, with aspects of hotel ownership and operations.

Property taxes are a large line-item expense for most lodging properties. To make matters worse, double taxation and even triple taxation of some property components can occur, particularly with leased furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E). Hospitality properties can be overtaxed through the application of the wrong approach to value, the incorrect application of a correct approach to value, or through the owner’s failure to prevent certain mistakes. 

After a long, hard fought battle, Florida politicians agreed to fully fund VISIT FLORIDA at $76 million. This is a special victory for our Florida hoteliers who sent 930 letters to elected officials and spent numerous hours at state legislative meetings, rallies and town halls to advocate for tourism funding.

On Monday, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to rescind the Obama Administration’s persuader rule. After its enactment, this rule made it very difficult for small business owners to obtain legal counsel on labor relations matters.

It is critical that we continue to advocate on your behalf, communicate brand initiatives and aggregate data that reflects your impact on the hospitality industry at large. To do this effectively we need property data! Participate in this quick survey by Friday, July 14 at 5 p.m. EST for the chance to win a free VISA gift card! If you win, you will be eligible to receive an additional $50 for every property you enter (Ex: 2 properties = $100, 10 properties = $500). Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity.

The AAHOA Government Affairs team is currently scheduling "Back of the House Tours" for the month of August. At these events, AAHOA members host elected officials at their properties and show them the daily challenges and responsibilities of hoteliers and their staff. If you are interested in hosting an elected official at your property this August, please contact jordan@aahoa.com.

Next Friday, June 23, AAHOA Young Professionals will join Hyatt executives at the Hyatt Center in Chicago for a day of professional development. Attendees will hear from Hyatt execs on the history of Hyatt, development, architecture design and construction, brand management and the future of the company. While the event has been sold out for months, three last-minute spaces have become available. We expect this event to fill up again immediately, so register now!

Join us next Thursday, June 22, at The Ohio State University for a day of education, networking, and important industry and regional updates! Don’t miss our in-depth education session, "2017 Regional Industry Update." Hosted by Marcus & Millichap and HVS/U.S. Hotel Appraisals, this session will help you to gain stronger understanding of your local markets to better strategize business decisions.

Every hotel faces fluctuations in revenue based on seasonality. With creative marketing and revenue management strategy, you can help your hotel grow market share and improve revenue performance during low periods of demand. Join us to learn five strategies that will help you add value.

Airbnb and other homestay services are directly impacting the hospitality industry. Similar to any other property on your comp list, hoteliers will need to strategize ways to maximize revenue. Join us to hear an Airbnb forecast, learn how Airbnb may be impacting your RevPAR, and some strategies on how to coexist without sacrificing your ADR.

● 25 percent discount off implementation fees

● Exclusive AAHOA service fee pricing

● Leading bundled HR solution

Contact TriNet today at www.trinet.com/aahoa.

With no bellhop or check-in desk in sight, stepping through the entrance of Ian Schrager’s newest hotel can be a bit disconcerting. Instead of the usual hum of activity and the army of doormen, bellhops and clerks, guests at PUBLIC New York are faced with just a dramatic set of high-polish copper escalators.

Suril Shah, managing director at Starwood Capital Group, believes this is an interesting time to be in the hotel ownership game. Speaking on the "Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em" panel at the 39th annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, Shah said this is especially true because so many of the publicly traded real estate investment trusts have started to articulate very different strategies and views on the industry.

After Expedia unveiled its Guest Review Insights tool in March, HOTEL MANAGEMENT surmised the company had an arsenal of forthcoming products for Expedia Lodging Partners. Now, we can confirm. The travel tech giant launched Points of Interest, another new tool that provides hotels the opportunity to spotlight the inimitability of their location.

The digital age has been transforming to the hospitality industry, as it impacts guest interaction at almost every step, and has given rise to the central role the IT department plays in guest-facing and back-of-the-house operations. Today, an effective CIO does not solely act as an engineer, but also needs to establish inter-departmental partnerships to ensure the success of technology projects that touch every corner of the hospitality environment. 

Human trafficking has reached epidemic proportions. DoSome-thing.org reports that there are as many as 30 million slaves around the world, with an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 individuals bought and sold internationally every year. And according to Polaris, a North American nonprofit dedicated to eradicating this modern form of slavery, more than 7,500 trafficking victims (around 20 per day) were identified in 2016.

When the Tru by Hilton brand first launched it was touted as a revolutionary new midscale brand and a disruptor in its space. As Tru continues to grow, global head of the brand Alexandra Jaritz, says those claims are proving true. When the brand launched in January 2016 it debuted with 102 signed deals in the United States. Most recently, the brand celebrated the grand opening on May 25 for the first Tru hotel, the Tru by Hilton Oklahoma City Airport, owned by AAHOA member Champ Patel.