We couldn’t be more pleased with the Kansas City Spotlight Event, held at the KCI Expo Center this past Monday. Central Midwest Regional Director Priyesh Patel and his ambassadors worked hard to put on a fantastic event, and they were rewarded with extremely happy vendors at the trade show and over $27,000 in PAC donations! Way to go, Central Midwest!

The third-to-last AAHOA regional wrapped up last night in Durham! Thanks to Regional Director Rashmikant "Haji" Patel and his ambassadors for helping AAHOA produce another great event, and congratulations to Akshat Patel, the 2016-2017 North Carolina Premier Ambassador!

Defying all odds, Donald Trump will soon be the 45th president of the United States. In addition, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate will maintain a Republican majority going into 2017.

On Tuesday, several states voted to increase the minimum wage to at least $12 an hour by 2020, including: Maine, Arizona, Colorado and Washington. "Washington approved a raise to $13.50 an hour by 2020; Colorado calls for $12 by 2020, but with the wage pegged to the cost of living after that."

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has made a push to become the next Chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee. Rep. Foxx has stated that she would address several important issues in this position, such as the overtime rule and the expanded joint employer definition.

Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, 2–2:30 p.m. EST: American Express will go through some common myths on credit card disputes, as well as best practices and tips to help prevent them.

Friday, Nov. 18, 2016, 2–2:30 p.m. EST: Immigration remains front page news. The election is over. As immigration reform moves from a theoretical idea to legislation, learn 10 steps employers must do now to prepare.

●  AAHOA members only: Free money

●  25% discount on the STAR Report and associated STAR add-ons for first-time hotel participants (during the first year of enrollment)

●  15% discount on Pipeline reports

●  10% discount on the School Break Report

●  Provided by STR. For detailed lodging performance data for your area, contact STR at (615) 824-8664, ext. 3504, or info@str.com.

Boutique hotels have swept across big U.S. cities over the past decade. Now they are pushing into smaller towns that don’t necessarily conjure images of luxury accommodations. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Sewanee, Tennessee, are two of the latest locales for small, upscale hotel properties geared toward hip travelers.

Airbnb Inc.’s claim that it’s just a conduit for user-generated content was rejected by a judge who said the company may not be able to duck a San Francisco law punishing it for collecting booking fees from hosts who fail to register their rentals with the city.

In the late 1970s, a "format war" erupted between Sony’s Betamax and JVC’s VHS, two videotape technologies, for consumer loyalty and market share. Betamax boasted superior resolution, sound, and picture, but Sony had badly misjudged its target market; ultimately, consumers preferred the considerably less expensive, if technically inferior, VHS format.

It’s tough to be a hotelier nowadays – the competition is fierce. Everyone is trying to figure out how to attract more guests. As a hotel owner, you probably wrack your brain on a daily basis wondering, "How can I stand out? Am I generating enough interest? Should I run more ads? Am I tweeting enough? Should I be snapchatting? What even is Snapchat?"