Almost three dozen AAHOA members – including AAHOA Chairman Bharat (Bruce) Patel, Vice Chairman Bhavesh Patel and AAHOA Treasurer Hitesh (HP) Patel – made the trip to Chicago for a chance to learn from and network with Hyatt leaders.

The GOP Convention is going on this week in Cleveland, Ohio. The event will conclude tonight with Republican nominee Donald Trump’s remarks.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has subpoenaed Microsoft as a potential joint employer with a company contractor in an unfair labor-practice charge filed by the Temporary Workers of America (TWA). The subpoena indicates that TWA seeks to compel Microsoft to bargain with TWA alongside one of its contractors, Lionbridge Technologies. Microsoft cited this dispute in a recent brief challenging the board's loosened joint-employer standard.

Will we see you at our 2016 Fall National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C.?

The Tupelo, Miss., CHO workshop is almost over! The newest CHO graduates will finish their exam tomorrow afternoon after a week of intensive training on everything a hotel owner needs to know. CHOs are the leaders of tomorrow’s AAHOA and the future of hospitality! Interested in learning more? Read about the AAHOA CHO program here, then click "Register Today!" to sign up! 

Make sure you’re checking the events calendar regularly to stay up to date on the next town hall meeting in your region.

Pictured: Panelists Amir Khan, Miraj S. Patel, Vimal Bhakta and Navnit Patel at the July 13 Southeast Texas town hall in Houston. 

Aseptic Health provides hospital-grade disinfectant that kills more than 20 of the most harmful pathogens found in hotel rooms. AAHOA members get special discounts – 13-percent savings over non-AAHOA pricing! – and a FREE dilution panel (a $100 value!). Visit us at AsepticPlusAAHOA.com! 

The U.S. hotel industry reported positive results in the three key performance metrics for the second quarter of 2016, according to data from STR. Compared with Q2 2015, the U.S. hotel industry’s occupancy was almost flat (+0.6 percent to 69.4 percent). ADR was up 2.9 percent to $124.47, and RevPAR increased 3.5 percent to $86.33.

The disruptors are coming! The disruptors are coming! Emerging hotel concepts with the potential to upend traditional hotel experiences are on the rise. And it’s making those lodging companies take note. The latest trend: U.S.-based hotel companies taking cues from recently founded European hotel brands.

We spoke with guest experience expert Minal Patel about his insights on guest experience and how it all has to do with having the right staff, in the right place, at the right time. Atlanta hotelier Minal Patel is a hard man to get hold of. In between managing a $10-million hotel portfolio and overseeing the operation of three extremely successful Marco’s Pizza franchises, he is an AAHOA North Georgia Regional Ambassador and an active member of the Georgia State University Alumni Association (2006).

Just yesterday, conventional wisdom dictated that the customer (or "guest" in the hotel world) was always right – an easy-to-follow truism that offered only the barest idea of what he/she actually wanted. Nowadays, the guest has changed indeed. Old and young, sociable and introverted, tech savvy and technophobic, modern hotel guests are as different as they are numerous – and they demand a modern approach.