Atlanta Tech Village recently invited AAHOA President & CEO Chip Rogers to participate in a live interview focused on his personal career journey. The start-up technology hub plans to talk to Rogers about his work at AAHOA, successes and challenges he has experienced throughout his career, and advice he would give to aspiring entrepreneurs. Atlanta Tech Village offers programming, resources, networking and support for local entrepreneurs. The interview will broadcast live on Jan. 30 around 6:20 p.m. A link to the video will be posted on the day of the event: tune in.

Today, Jan. 26, is the last day to get early bird pricing for the 2018 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show. Register before close of business today to take advantage of significant savings. Register today.

 

Stay Current on Issues in Your Local Area 
Town hall meetings are a great opportunity to get to know your regional directors and ambassadors, network and learn more about what the association is doing to advance your business. Coming up soon: 

Jan. 26 – Southwest Town Hall – Phoenix, Ariz.
Jan. 31 – North & South Carolina Town Hall – Myrtle Beach, SC
Jan. 31 – South Pacific Town Hall – Artesia, Calif.
Feb. 1 – South Pacific Town Hall – Studio City, Calif.
Feb. 5 – South Central Texas Town Hall – San Antonio, Texas
Feb. 6 – Gulf Town Hall – Little Rock, Ark.
Feb. 6 – South Central Texas Town Hall – San Marcos, Texas
Feb. 7 – South Central Texas Town Hall – Corpus Christi, Texas
Feb. 7 – Southwest Town Hall – Clovis, NM
Feb. 8 – South Central Texas Town Hall – Edinburg, Texas

AAHOA’s Spring National Advocacy Conference (SNAC) will take place May 8-9 in Washington, D.C. The meetings held with lawmakers over the two-day conference help the association more effectively represent the hospitality industry on Capitol Hill, and are a critical part of AAHOA’s mission to attain legislative and regulatory successes on behalf of hoteliers nationwide.

 

Upcoming Webinars – February 2018

• Feb. 6 – You’re Playing My Jam: Music Licensing for Hoteliers
• Feb. 7 – Estate Planning for Hoteliers: Why It’s Important  and How to Do It 
• Feb. 7 – What’s New in Employment Law for 2018: Your Hotel’s Early Check-In
  
• Feb. 7 – 2018 Hospitality Trends hosted by SkyTouch
  
• Feb. 13 – STAR Benchmarking 101
• Feb. 14 – Beyond the Numbers: Visualize Your Property Performance
• Feb. 14 – FLSA Common Issues to Avoid
• Feb. 15 – STR Data: The Reports You Might Not Know About
• Feb. 15 – How to Create Brand Awareness for Your Business
  
• Feb. 21 – What You Need to Know About FLSA Joint Employment of Employees
• Feb. 22 – Hotels and Price Gouging: What Hotel Companies Should Know
• Feb. 27 – Your Business Structure: Now More Important Than Ever
• Feb. 28 – White Collar Exemptions for Hotel Owners

Check out the AAHOA Resource Library to view over a hundred past webinars and other educational resources.  

March 27 – AAHOA Certified Hotel Owners (CHO) Program (last onsite class for 2018)
March 27 – AAHOA Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics 
March 27 – Human Trafficking Awareness Training

U.S. RevPar was down this week compared to last year, given the fact that last year’s results were heavily impacted by the presidential inauguration and the women’s march on Washington. However, economy was up this week (2.9 percent); whereas midscale and upper midscale trailed at 1.2 percent and .1 percent, respectively. Independent hotels did not fare as well; they were down 4.9 percent compared to last year this time. For more, read the full report. Also, be sure to check out the newly released Corporate Rate Negotiations report and the December 2017 RevPar report.

Contact Bob Serrone at (954) 597-3163 or bob.cerrone@ferguson.com for more information.

State-of-the-art classic RFID locks in satin chrome Visionline software, with laptop, encoder and check-in stations 500 RFID ultralight guest keycards and 10 staff cards

According to industry forecasters, demand will continue to outpace supply in 2018, but other factors, such as tighter financing markets and continued slow rate growth, will affect performance and transactions trends. (Source: Hotel News Now)

In the near future, there may be a shift in the relationships among hotel owners, brands and online travel agencies. (Source: Skift)

Identifying and stopping human trafficking in the hospitality industry requires a conscious effort from on-property staff, and there are many indicators hoteliers can look for and practices they can implement to catch traffickers and save victims. (Source Hotel Management)