It's been a tough week for the hospitality industry. Yesterday, Jay Schultz, SVP Hospitality Group of Hotel Business Magazine passed away after battling complications from a long illness. Click here to read about Jay's contributions to Hotel Business and the industry. Earlier this week, Lee Dushoff of Hotel Partners passed away following a battle with cancer. In the late 1980s, Lee worked with AAHOA co-founder Mike Leven to help form AAHOA. Click here to read about Lee Dushoff and AAHOA’s history.

AAHOA will host two regional meetings next week: one on August 7 in Long Island, NY and on August 9 in Detroit, MI. Sarah Washburn, the membership manager for the Connecticut Lodging Association will join as a guest speaker in Long Island. In Detroit, we'll host an education session about how the new tax law is affecting you, your business, and the economy. Register for these and other upcoming regional meetings here.

Is it time you begin considering modular units? How will it affect your finances, product quality, and schedule? Join us in Oklahoma City on September 5 to learn all about modular construction and whether it is a good fit for your next hotel project. (Bonus: The event will be hosted at a modular-constructed hotel!) Click here to learn more and register now. Don't wait–we only have 18 seats left!

What did you miss this week? Check out the AAHOA Facebook page to view our members doing great things! Chairman Hitesh (HP) Patel spoke at the Latino Hotel Association Conference, AAHOA Upper Midwest Regional Director Kalpesh Joshi hosted two regional meetings, Marriott hosted the AAHOA YP Development Day, members earned their CHIAs in Dallas, we celebrated our vendors at Top Golf, the Hotel ROI education series kicked off at the North Texas Regional Meeting, and more.

Town halls are a great opportunity to build your professional network and to learn more about the AAHOA programs and resources available to help you strengthen every aspect of your business. These events are open to all hotel owners, even if you're not already a member. Coming up soon:

 

 

Join us for the regional meeting closest to you for access to top vendors, incredible networking opportunities, and region-specific industry updates you won't see anywhere else. These events are open to all hotel owners, even if you're not already a member. Plus, Lifetime Members receive a free Nike polo shirt for attending.

 

 

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reports, “Luxury (+6.4%) was the strongest chain scale for branded hotels; Upscale was the weakest at +3.4%. Midscale (+3.9%) and Upper Midscale (+3.7%) also underperformed the overall US hotel industry average. While last week was a largely clean comp, we note that Group was quite weak in 2017 vs. 2016 with double-digit Group RevPAR declines in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, LA, Nashville, Seattle, and Tampa. Unsurprisingly, a number of these markets (among others) had double-digit positive RevPAR last week. For the month of July, we estimate that full-service branded domestic hotels (the typical Hilton, Hyatt, or Marriott hotel) will finish at approximately +2-3% (unchanged from our prior estimate). We estimate that the overall industry will finish approximately +0-1% (unchanged from our prior estimate).” For more, read the full report.

A mobile-only booking app that was launched in 2011 is changing the way guests book hotel rooms. The app was originally known for focusing on last-minute bookings for guests. However, Hotel Tonight offers advance booking as well as a new initiative that uses a customer's previous booking experience to pair them with a hotel that is priced at least 30 percent lower than they will find anywhere else. (Source: Quartz)

"We need to elevate the level of understanding and engagement, which is beneficial to our society," says CEO of Hyatt Hotels Mark Hoplamazian. In this video, Hoplamazian discusses why "care" and "hospitality" go hand-in-hand, and how being in this industry often leads to showing empathy for broader issues in society. (Source: Fortune)

On Sunday, legislative leaders in Massachusetts reached a decision that the 5.7 percent hotel tax will now extend to Airbnb units as well as other short-term rentals. This change can raise $25 million a year for the state. Cities and towns also have the option to add an additional tax, similarly done with hotels. (Source: Boston Globe)