AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton and AAHOA Vice President for Government Affairs Chirag Shah were recent guests on the Across the States podcast, produced by the American Legislative Exchange Council, to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the hotel industry. "Nothing could've prepared us for what we've seen with COVID-19," Staton said. "It has led to a liquidity crisis which finds hoteliers dealing with the lowest rates of occupancy literally in recorded history. Far worse than 9/11 ... far worse than the 2008 financial crisis. ... We are quite concerned about the devastating impact that it's still going to have on the economy over the next few months." "This has become a crisis that evolves every single day," Shah added. The discussions on Across the States focus on state issues and state solutions within state capitols, by state legislators and with state policy experts.

Hotel Online recently published a Q&A with AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton to discuss AAHOA’s advocacy efforts and the association’s "10,000 Letters, One Purpose" campaign, which launched in mid-October, reached its goal within 24 hours, and resulted in more than 16,000 letters being sent to Congress and the White House. “We’re trying to educate lawmakers about the industry itself,” Staton said in the interview. “Just because there’s a brand name on the side of the building doesn’t mean it’s owned by a huge corporation. Lawmakers need to know that these programs aren’t bailing out big brands but rather helping small business owners who make investments in their communities and keep people employed.” Read the full article.

'Tis the season of giving, so what better time than now to contribute to the Kennesaw State University Michael Leven and Lee Dushoff AAHOA Scholarship for Compassionate Leadership? The scholarship, which honors the legacy of two leaders instrumental to AAHOA's founding, provides financial assistance to exceptional students in the hospitality program. Your donation is fully tax deductible, so give today. Visit community.kennesaw.edu/aahoa, or contact Seth Walker to make your contribution.

AAHOA's 2020 Regional Conferences & Trade Shows continue today with the AAHOA Arkansas, Central Midwest, and Gulf Regional: A Virtual Experience (2-6 p.m. CST). The event begins soon, and it's not too late for you to attend! Our Regionals Series, which continues into December, gives attendees the chance to hear from industry leaders and subject-matter experts in your local area as you continue down the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. These virtual conferences also offer attendees region-specific industry panels that impart vital information to help your business survive in these unprecedented times. Attendees and vendors also can take advantage of great networking opportunities and trade shows. All Regionals are FREE, and you can attend as many as you like! Visit here to learn more about this can't-miss series, then register now to reserve your spot.

 

AAHOA is hosting upcoming virtual events to share the latest updates for America’s hotel owners in various parts of the United States. Add these events to your calendar now. 

In a recent Morning Consult survey, a whopping 72 percent of respondents said concerns about cleanliness and sanitization affect their decision on whether to stay in a hotel. AAHOA has partnered with P&G Professional to create the AAHOA/P&G Professional’s Training in Hotel Sanitization and Cleanliness. This all-digital program covers what hoteliers need to know as it relates to the effective sanitization of your property. This program is completely FREE and is available to the entire hospitality industry. Download our infographic to learn more and sign up for this valuable training today!

AAHOA is bringing you a series of COVID-19-related webcasts that will keep you informed and help determine next steps for your business. We have educated more than 33,000 hoteliers to date and feature more than 180 webcasts separated by category in our library. AAHOA is making these webcasts available to the industry, so share with those in your network, whether they're an AAHOA Member or not. 

 

• Getting Back to Business: Disaster Strikes (Part 3) – The Best Approach to Repairs & Upgrades, 1-1:30 p.m. EST Friday, November 20
• Getting Back to Business: I Want to Win the Ball Game: The Owner/GM as the Hotel’s Chief Strategy Officer, 3-3:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, December 2
• Getting Back to Business: I Want to Win the Ball Game: The Owner/GM as the Hotel’s Chief Financial Officer, 3-3:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, December 8
• Getting Back to Business: I Want to Win the Ball Game: The Owner/GM as the Hotel’s Chief Information Officer, 3-3:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, December 15

Truist Securities (formerly SunTrust Robinson Humphrey) reports, “Economy (-11.7%) was the relatively strongest chain scale for branded hotels; Luxury was the weakest at -74.8%. Upscale (-56.6%) underperformed the industry average; Upper Midscale (-40.5%) outperformed. We view last week's results as more of a normalized week (in the pandemic era) with Election Day/week and Veterans Day in the rear window and a return to relatively stronger performance for weekends than weekdays (Friday/Saturday ~ 49% occupancy vs. workweek of low 40s). That said, the spread between the Luxury/Upper Upscale hotels and Economy/Midscale hotels continues to be very wide as presented in the linked statistics.”

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! Visit http://www.avendra.com or call 866-AVENDRA and start saving today!

AAHOA Members, when you choose Rinnai, you’re choosing a commitment to excellence. It’s time to give your buildings a more efficient and reliable source of hot water. Rinnai® Tankless and Demand Duo™ Hybrid Commercial Water Heating Systems supply commercial buildings with an endless supply of hot water while you save thousands in operational and life-cycle costs. Contact Dipesh Parekh, call 800-621-9419, or visit the Rinnai website to see what rebates are available.

The members of AHIA specialize in hospitality industry legal issues and have a minimum of five years' experience for in-house counsel and 10 years' experience for outside counsel. All AHIA members are committed to promoting professionalism, continuing education, and improved communication, which creates a network of competent experienced attorneys committed to improving legal services throughout the hospitality industry. Access their nationwide directory to find a hospitality industry lawyer near you.

As we learn more about the effects of COVID-19 on hospitality, the numbers continue to look grim. Recovery is anticipated, just a little later than we may like. Recovery is projected for 2023-2024, meaning hoteliers will need to buckle down to survive. 

Now that we're well into the pandemic, hoteliers can use information learned over the past year to guide their next steps. Disruptions in demand were significant, but we're on the road to recovery. Hotel costs have been identified and controlled to weather the storm. Now, hoteliers can continue to re-evaluate their properties to see out the rest of 2020 – and the COVID-19 pandemic – securely.

As the pandemic continues to affect hospitality, hoteliers have needed to get creative. In Canada, the Lethbridge Lodging Association has started setting up themed rooms, allowing groups of up to six people to book the rooms for private photo sessions. In addition to adding a bit of revenue, the hope is guests will remember the unique experiences and return to the properties.