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AAHOA News
This year's highly anticipated HerOwnership Conference & Retreat, taking place November 2-3 in Dallas, TX, at The Beeman Hotel, is specifically designed to provide hoteliers with an unparalleled opportunity to enhance your professional growth and achieve new heights in your career.
During the event, you will immerse yourself in a supportive and collaborative environment, surrounded by like-minded individuals who share your ambitions and drive. Through a series of panel discussions, wellness workshops, and keynote speeches, attendees will come away feeling empowered, having learned valuable insights and actionable strategies.
Attending this event will provide you with numerous benefits, including expanded professional networks and mentorship opportunities. By connecting with industry leaders, seasoned professionals, and fellow attendees, you will forge meaningful relationships that can accelerate your career progression and open doors to exciting new ventures.
In addition, look forward to various wellness activities designed to help you recharge, reduce stress, and enhance your overall well-being, ensuring you return to your professional endeavors with renewed energy and focus.
Registration opens soon! Join us at the HerOwnership Conference & Retreat this year - you don't want to miss it!
AAHOA Member and New Orleans hotelier Vimal Patel and his partners are featured in an episode of “The American Dream” on Bloomberg TV. The show presents stories of immigrants to the U.S. who began successful businesses, such as Patel’s Q Hotels in LaPlace, Louisiana.
The episode of the show, which aired June 24, tells the story of Q Hotels’ foundation by Jayesh (Jay) Patel and Kishor (Kevin) Patel along with Vimal in 2013. Jay is originally from Sisodara, India, Kevin is from Kuched, India, while Vimal is from Nogama.
“One of the things about being selected to be on this American Dream show is it’s an honor, because for the previous generations that had immigrated and relocated to this country, it was a struggle and 25 to 30 years later, being recognized … I get satisfaction in that it’s been recognized, all the hard work and struggles in sweat, blood, and tears and all that it’s been, for new generations,” Vimal said.
Several AAHOA Women Hoteliers attended BITAC Purchasing & Design East, which took place from July 9-11 at Omni Amelia Island in Fernandina Beach, Florida, and experienced a discussion titled “Natural Progression: Women Hoteliers Help Drive Home Industry’s Diversity Efforts.”
Lina Patel, Director of Strategic Franchise Initiatives at Red Roof and former AAHOA Women Hoteliers Director at Large Eastern Division, moderated a 30-minute session with four panelists.
Lina Patel first asked the panelists about the biggest challenges that women owners face in the hospitality industry. Mayuri Patel, AAHOA Member, said it's hard for women to receive equal financing necessary to purchase properties.
Tejal Patel, AAHOA Women Hoteliers Director Western Division, said she feels women bring unique perspectives to leadership roles due to their versatility and problem-solving capabilities.
“Traditionally, women, we tend to wear a lot of different hats, right? We tend to problem-solve pretty well,” Tejal said. “We’ll take our experience from one place (and) implement it somewhere else. I think those types of leaders actually make the best kinds.”
Arti Patel, AAHOA Central Midwest Regional Director, agreed with Tejal, adding that emotional intelligence is a major strength of many women.
“With the labor shortage, everything that’s going on, there’s so many more opportunities,” Arti said. “(We’re) just wanting to get to know one another and try to feel compassion for the other and finding their like SWOT analysis, right. So what’s your strength? What’s your weakness? Most people don’t do that. But as females, I feel like that’s one of our strong suits. We want to know the person, not just have the job description.”
The panelists discussed how there are more opportunities than ever for women to become hotel owners. Lina Patel mentioned that all the major hotel brands now have diversity programs geared toward women and minorities that will provide resources and funding for aspiring hotel owners.
One of the programs mentioned was AAHOA's very own HerOwnership initiative, a program launched in 2022 with the help of Lina and Tejal. Tejal said the program means the world to her as she takes a leadership role in championing women in the industry.
“I get to be a leader in this initiative, because there were other women before me,” said Tejal. “What I get to do now is, the baton’s in my hand, and I get to run as far as I can and just hand it over to the next person. So it’s humbling, and it just means the world.”
Purnima Patel, AAHOA Women Hoteliers Director Eastern Division, talked about how female empowerment programs within the industry also serve an educational purpose.
“It’s mostly to help educate more women into being more self confident than depending on someone else,” Purnima said. “In our culture, what happens is, the women do all the work, and the men get the credit.”
Last year was nothing short of spectacular, and now we invite you to become an integral part of the experience.
Your support has the power to transform lives.
By sponsoring our tournaments, you'll gain exclusive access to networking opportunities and elevate your brand's visibility among industry leaders. The icing on the cake? 100% of the proceeds go directly to charity!
Let's work together to improve the lives of those in need while showcasing your brand's commitment to giving back.
We've carefully crafted sponsorship packages tailored to your unique marketing goals and budget. To learn more, click the link below or contact sales@aahoa.com.
Featured Content
The excitement continues this summer! We have the travel numbers to prove it and the phenomenal AAHOA events to back it up. Many AAHOA Members have already been traveling from coast to coast to our Regional Conferences & Trade Shows. In this newly released video, members, industry partners, and elected officials share why they’re going cross country with AAHOA. Take a look at some of the notable quotes featured in the video below:
“You never know who you're going to meet,” AAHOA Member Deep Shah said.
“Coming to events like this, and just meeting other Lifetime Members has been a really good resource, especially because you have this similar background, a similar journey,” AAHOA Lifetime Member Preet Patel said. “It's easier to connect and network because you share the same values."
“You’re meeting different people but also understanding different needs in the different markets. Because every market has its own need,” AAHOA Member Karim Chandani said.
HerOwnership
"Being a woman hotelier to me means liking people, building teams from the ground up and mentoring potential talent. From my perspective, hospitality is an intrinsic delivery. It’s all about how we make others feel and they will remember that forever. We have the honor and responsibility of creating and shaping memories. It is a powerful space to occupy when someone else puts their confidence and expectations in us. Women deliver at this level everyday in their personal and professional lives, we are naturally poised to be hospitable servant leaders."
-Nila Patel, in response to the question, "What does it mean to you to be a woman hotelier?"
Member Testimonial
AAHOA Education
We know the financial well-being of your employees is important, but each employee’s needs are different. Learn how to implement an effective employee financial wellness strategy that lets you meet the diverse needs of your employees.
Presenter: Richard Moravek, CLU, Financial Representative at MassMutual South Florida
AAHOA in the News
Featured Club Blue Member
As North America’s leading hospitality procurement services provider, Avendra offers AAHOA Members competitive pricing from its 800+ supplier contracts. Earn huge savings on engineering, rooms operations, administrative, replacement FF&E, and more! Check out the website or call 866-AVENDRA and start saving today!
Featured Platinum/Silver Partner
Guest Supply, a Sysco Company, is the leading provider of operating supplies and equipment to the lodging industry. With product development and design, manufacturing, and a direct to property sales force, Guest Supply is the only vertically integrated company in the industry. From 16 company-owned-and-operated Sales and Distribution Centers, Guest Supply services more than 26,000 hotels in the U.S. with a comprehensive product line that meets the needs of hotels at all market levels. For more info, contact Justin Haggart (jhaggart@guestsupply.com) or visit the website.
Featured Member Benefit
AAHOA Members get a 25% discount on the STAR report (during the 1st year of enrollment), 15% discount on Pipeline reports, and a 10% discount on the School Break Report. Click here to view additional benefits, then contact STR at (615) 824-8664, ext. 3504 or info@str.com to get started.
Industry News
More than just a buzzworthy term, artificial intelligence is poised to reshape countless facets of daily life, and forward-thinking hoteliers are already exploring the ways this evolving technology can reshape their daily operations.
(Source: Medium)
While there remains no shortages of industry-wide concerns, a recent panel of experts found several key issues continuing to be top-of-mind for hoteliers – including continued recovery and ROI.
(Source: Hospitality Design)
According to recent data, summer travel demand is booming, as direct bookings grow exponentially while ADR continues to decline in the U.S. market.
(Source: HospitalityNet)
Today's Hotelier - In Case You Missed It
In the Market
Truist Securities reports, “Overall U.S. RevPAR was -1.2% y/y for the week ending 7/8/2023, per STR, below the prior week's result of +5.7%, and below the trailing 10-week average of +1.8%. Versus 2019, RevPAR was -2.1%, below the prior week’s result of +30.3%, and below the trailing 10-week average of +11.8%. Last week's y/y results were modestly negatively impacted by a July 4th holiday shift. For the y/y result, as the holiday fell on a Tuesday this year versus a Monday last year, this created a shortened business travel week. This was most evident in Group results which were only +0.7% y/y versus +5.1% for the running 28 days. Upscale RevPAR: -2.6% y/y and -15.4% versus 2019; Upper Midscale RevPAR: -3.2% y/y and -6.8% versus 2019.”
For more, read the full report here, and read the China/Europe report here.
Upcoming Events
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AAHOA South Pacific Town Hall - Orange, CA
