The Lodging Conference took place this week, September 19-22, at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge. All AAHOA Officers, along with President & CEO Laura Lee Blake, were panelists during the speaker sessions. AAHOA also held a successful VIP Reception on Tuesday night.

 

President & CEO Laura Lee Blake was on stage during the Wednesday morning General Session "From the CEO Perspective," with Rachel Humphrey, Founder of Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance, moderating the panel. She was also joined by Tyler Morse, Chairman & CEO of MCR, Rob Palleschi, Chief Executive Officer of G6 Hospitality, and others. They spoke about the challenges that the industry faces today and how we can continue to evolve into the future.

 

Chairman Neal Patel was on stage during the second General Session on Wednesday with Liam Brown, Group President, United States & Canada, Marriott International; Larry Cuculic, President & CEO, Best Western Hotels & Resorts; and Rob Hays, President & CEO, Ashford Hospitality Trust, with Glenn Haussman, friend of AAHOA and host of the No Vacancy Podcast moderating. 

 

For more information on The Lodging Conference, click here.

On Thursday, September 15, AAHOA leadership met with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya in our nation’s Capital. The Commissioner included FTC staff involved with oversight of franchising, including Consumer Protection Bureau Director Sam Levine. They discussed several key issues affecting the hospitality industry, including the many unfair practices in franchising and the FTC’s Franchise Rule.

 

As the newest Commissioner, Commissioner Bedoya has taken a great interest in franchising and being a strong advocate for protecting AAHOA Members and American consumers.

 

“We are grateful for Commissioner Bedoya’s commitment to AAHOA Members and for being a staunch advocate for franchisees from every background and sector,” said AAHOA President & CEO Laura Lee Blake. “It is through our great working relationship with the Commissioner and the Federal Trade Commission that we are able to continue to advance and advocate for the best interests of AAHOA Members,” she said.

 

During the meeting, Blake also addressed AAHOA’s recent revamp of its 12 Points of Fair Franchising as an educational primer for AAHOA Member franchisees and the important work the association is doing to advance fairness in the franchise space.

 

“There are so many important topics to address when it comes to advancing fair franchising, and the Federal Trade Commission and the work it does is an important component to AAHOA’s overall strategy,” said AAHOA Chairman Neal Patel. “It is through our continued relationship with Commissioner Bedoya and the FTC that we are able to shed light on important issues affecting Franchisees – not only those affecting hotel owners, but for franchise owners across the U.S.,” he said.

  

Commissioner Bedoya appeared in an exclusive interview in the September 2022 issue of Today’s Hotelier magazine. Access that article here.

The Employee Retention Credit has been one of the most beneficial tax credits available to hotels that have been financially impacted by COVID-19. Due to various updates and changes to the legislation, there remain many misconceptions about business eligibility, which has resulted in an underutilization of this tax credit.

 

If you think you don't qualify, it's time to take a second look. You can claim up to $26k per employee.

 

Text Vivek Arora to find out how much you may be eligible for: 781-985-2784.

Ready to hop on a call? Schedule here.

Last week, IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) reported that its technology systems had been subject to unauthorized activity, which resulted in IHG’s booking channels, Reservations & Customer Care (RCC) call centres, and internal systems, such as Merlin and the IHG Help Desk, being disrupted. As a result, hotel franchisees – including many AAHOA Members – across the country saw a complete shutdown in guestroom bookings during this outage.

 

Most of these franchisees are small business owners who can ill afford to write off unexpected losses in bookings, especially as they continue to recover from the long-lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. AAHOA Members (and other hotel franchisees) deserve an explanation.

 

IHG must ensure these hard-working small business owners can recoup the losses incurred due to the booking system outage. Earlier this week, AAHOA sent an alert to members to help advance discussions with IHG around this situation, asking franchisees with IHG properties to participate in our brief survey, which will be available through 11:59 p.m. ET, Friday, Sept. 23. 

 

September may be nearly over, but AAHOA events are not slowing down! Check out our lineup of events coming your way. Make plans to join us by registering today. (All times are local.)

In a tight labor market, hotel owners feel tremendous pressure to increase wages in order to remain competitive. However, not having reliable market data can lead to poor decision-making. Access this webinar to learn how to hire and retain the best talent by offering market-based, competitive pay by position, and also how to make wage decisions and set compensation strategies that are legal, safe, and secure.

 

Truist Securities reports, “Last week’s RevPAR was up against a +75.8% comparable result in 2021 vs. +62.0% in the prior week. On a 3-year run-rate (vs. 2019), RevPAR was +12.9% vs. -1.8% in the prior week’s 3-year run-rate. Versus 2021: easy comp due to Yom Kippur in the prior year. Versus 2019: encouraging recovery of occupancy with several major business-focused markets into the 80s/90s% in the midweek. ADR growth is mixed given operating/labor cost growth. Upscale RevPAR: +35.7% y/y and +5.6% over 3 years; Upper Midscale RevPAR: +18.0% y/y and +12.4% over 3 years.”

For more, read the full report here, read the China/Europe report here, and read the Lodging RevPAR Monitor here.

Independent public adjusters are invaluable members of your insurance claim settlement team for help in dealing with commercial or residential catastrophic loss. Negotiating a claim after a devastating event such as a fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, or any natural disaster is a monumental task. The insurance company will use their team to attempt to minimize your loss. That’s where we come in. WorldClaim Global Claims Management is a 33-year-old international firm of public insurance adjusters advocating on behalf of commercial, institutional and individual policyholders. We provide the highest level of claims management services to clients around the globe. For more information, visit our website, then contact Russell Heath (rheath@worldclaim.net) today.

INFINITI HR is a Master Aggregator, The Professional Employer Organization for Hospitality Management© throughout all 50 states. INFINITI HR is recognized for the exceptional ability to support employer standards, mitigate employer risk and liability, while providing superior economies of scale and purchasing power for world-class, mid-range, and economy hotel properties of all sizes. For more information, visit our website, then contact Daniel Mormino (daniel.mormino@infinitihr.com) today to get started.

AAHOA Members receive a 10% discount on CBRE’s Hotel Horizons econometric forecast reports of 60 major markets in the United States. Click here to view additional benefits. Contact CBRE Client Services (websales@cbre.com) to claim your discount, or call 855-223-1200.

Juggling finances is a constant in the life of a hotelier, but there are several key principles that can be implemented to help alleviate some of the pain points regarding money management.

With many properties continuing to struggle with hiring, some hoteliers are finding success by focusing on connecting with younger generations of potential employees.

With the industry continuing to recover from the pandemic, the ongoing surge of business-and-leisure travel continues to be a boon to properties struggling to fill the gaps left behind by the stilted return of business travelers.