Hotelier Weekly
July 20, 2023
Visual Matrix
AAHOA News
  
Heads up! In less than a week, the 2023 AAHOA Charity Golf Tournament Series kicks off with the Mid South Charity Golf Tournament on Monday, July 24, at the Cherry Blossom Golf Club in Lexington, KY. Directly following the Mid South Charity Golf Tournament, on Tuesday, July 25, is the Mid South Regional Conference & Trade Show, taking place in Lexington, KY at the Campbell House, Curio Collection by Hilton.
 
AAHOA's Charity Golf Tournaments provide you with a great opportunity for vendors and members to network, enjoy the outdoors, and come together for a great cause.
 
By attending the Mid South Charity Golf Tournament, you're supporting the following charities:
Be sure to secure your playing space today, and get ready to support amazing causes.
 
AAHOA has long been at the forefront of the hospitality industry's battle against human trafficking. As hoteliers, you're in a prime position to lead the fight against sex and labor trafficking, helping to eradicate human trafficking from your communities.
 
AAHOA Members can attend the Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) Inhsopitable to Human Trafficking Training, Sponsored by AAHOA, free of charge, at the Mid South Regional Conference & Trade Show from 2 to 3 p.m., where you'll earn a certificate of completion. Register today so you don't miss out. 
  
AAHOA leaders are attending the NABHOOD 27th Annual International African American Hotel Ownership and Investment Summit, taking place July 19-21 in Miami, FL, at Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay.
 
AAHOA Chairman Bharat Patel will be participating in a panel on Thursday, July 20, titled "ABCs of Hotel Financing," and on Friday, July 21 titled "Extended Stay - The Market Continues to Pefrorm." This panel is aimed at exploring the resilience & successes in the extended stay market.
 
Past Chairman Vinay Patel (2021-2022) will also be participating in two different panels on Friday, one titled "Steps to Becoming a Successful Hotel Owner," and the other panel titled "Building a Successful Development or Ownership Team." Other AAHOA Members will be participating in multiple panels at the summit, including AAHOA Past Chairman (2011-2012) Hemant Patel, AAHOA Past Chairman (2018-2019) Hitesh (HP) Patel, Danny Gaekwad, and Dr. Jay S. Patel.
 
On Thursday evening, from 5:40 to 6:30 p.m., NABHOOD and AAHOA will be holding a joint Town Hall meeting. Dr. Andy Ingraham, President and CEO of NABHOOD, will be giving remarks, along with AAHOA Chairman Bharat Patel, AAHOA Secretary Rahul Patel, Immediate Past Chairman Nishant (Neal) Patel, and AAHOA Florida Regional Director Chetan (Chris) Patel.
 
AAHOA is proud to partner with NABHOOD and support their goal of increasing the number of African-Americans developing, managing, operating, and owning hotels. In fact, a seat on NABHOOD's board was created so that the current AAHOA Chairman can serve as an ex officio board member. 
 
  
North Carolina’s recent Regional Conference & Trade Show was another powerful example of the meaningful work AAHOA is doing in every single region. Nearly 250 attendees and 60 exhibitors showed up to support the North Carolina region, and almost $10k in PAC donations was raised.
 
AAHOA Chairman Bharat Patel, Vice Chairman Miraj Patel, and Secretary Rahul Patel were in attendance. Other members of the Board of Directors who attended include South Carolina Regional Director Fenil Desai, Mid South Regional Director Harikrishna (HK) Patel, Director at Large Eastern Division Pinal Patel, and Northeast Regional Director Preyas Patel.
 
North Carolina Regional Director Pinkesh Patel and local ambassadors worked tirelessly to ensure the North Carolina Regional went off without a hitch. Attendees heard from several esteemed guest speakers - Paul Newton, North Carolina Senate Majority Leader; Isabel Villa-Garcia, Vice President of Government Affairs of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA); and a special video message from North Carolina Attorney General Joshua Stein recognized hotel owners’ significant contributions to the economy of North Carolina.
 
Hats off to Pinkesh, our local ambassadors, and the entire Team AAHOA for organizing another exceptional regional event.
 
We’re entering the peak of the regional season, with the next regional on Tuesday, July 25, in Lexington, KY, followed by a remarkable lineup of seven regionals in August. Let’s keep the momentum going!
Charter Communications Operating, LLC
Ajmera Law Group
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?"
Red Roof Inn
dormakaba USA Inc.
Member Testimonial
  
"I want members to be informed, prepared, and connected. How are we going to do that? We’re going to leverage technology, and we're going to have a higher level of member engagement until everyone on our team, the board included, is on board with us. And so, I'm excited to be your next chairman. I'm excited for our industry. And I can't wait to get started."
 
-Bharat Patel, AAHOA Chairman (2023-2024)
AAHOA Education
  
In recent years, dual-branded hotels have become an increasingly popular way to streamline costs and productivity. This webinar will teach you how to best position your dual brands to appeal to and attract the widest berth of consumers in your target market.
 
 
DIRECTV Hospitality
Featured Club Blue Member
  
New Orleans-based Gauthier, Murphy & Houghtaling Law has had a leading role in litigation that has shaped the civil landscape in the U.S. for more than 50 years. Their attorneys have extensive experience representing clients in many areas, including business litigation, natural disaster litigation, class actions, insurance disputes, and more and have secured hundreds of billions of dollars (yes, with a "B") in verdicts and settlements for their clients. Check out their website to see how they can help with your legal needs.
Hotel Equities
Karcher North America
Featured Member Benefit
  
No Vacancy with Glenn Haussman is the travel industry’s most exciting podcast. It's a fun, fast-paced, genre-bending program that peels back the veneer of the travel business. Click here to subscribe to the No Vacancy Podcast. Follow Glenn on Twitter @TravelingGlenn or visit www.rouse.media.
Featured Platinum/Silver Partner
  
PMC Commercial Trust offers conventional and SBA loan programs for the acquisition, refinancing, renovation and construction of businesses with commercial real estate throughout the country as principal lenders. PMC has been granted Preferred Lender (PLP) status from the SBA, which allows for a faster turn-around time at the SBA. Since the early 90’s, PMC’s focus has been on the hospitality industry, assisting start up individuals as well as multi property owners in obtaining the financing that best fits their needs. Visit the website, then contact Kristi Lewis-Hodge (loans@pmctrust.com) to get started.
Red Lion Hotel Corp - Sonesta
Alliance Laundry Systems-UniMac
Industry News
Perhaps unsurprisingly, during a recent gathering of industry executives, a key topic of conversation was the ongoing challenge presented by persistent workforce shortages.
(Source: Hospitality Design)
As part of a stronger than expected jobs report for June 2023, job growth in leisure and hospitality represented close to 50% of all new jobs added in the month.
(Source: Travel Pulse)
Adopted out of necessity during the pandemic, some tech-based solutions in the hospitality industry are less popular than they were a few years ago – QR codes, for example – while others, like POS systems, are driving continued innovation.
(Source: Forbes)
Intellihot
Today's Hotelier

JULY ISSUE

The July 2023 issue of Today's Hotelier magazine is out now! This month, we're exploring a handful of topics, with a special focus on staying ahead of design trends, including budgeting for current and upcoming hotel design trends, getting back to basics, and much more.

Featured Content

Join thousands of AAHOA Members, brand CEOs, and industry professionals by subscribing to our magazine. Receive every digital issue of Today’s Hotelier as soon as it’s released to the public. Click here to subscribe.

In the Market
  
Truist Securities reports, “Overall U.S. RevPAR was +1.6% y/y for the week ending 7/15/2023, per STR, above the prior week's result of -1.2%, and slightly above the trailing 10-week average of +1.2%. Versus 2019, RevPAR was +8.1%, above the prior week’s result of -2.1%, but below the trailing 10-week average of +11.3%. On a y/y basis last week was a clean comp. Group results were modestly below our expectations, but we did not see consistently weak results across markets or types of properties so we are not suggesting any evidence of a change in group trends. Perhaps y/y comps are somewhat tougher for some leisure groups given pent-up 2022 demand. Upscale RevPAR: +3.9% y/y and +4.0% versus 2019; Upper Midscale RevPAR: +2.1% y/y and +7.8% versus 2019.”
For more, read the full report here, and read the China/Europe report here.