This year, AAHOA CEO Chip Rogers will attend the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) Law conference as a panelist on the "Update from D.C. – The Aftermath of This Historic 2016 Election and What It Means for Your Business."

We’re excited to share the entertainment lineup for the 2017 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show! Come see Devangi Patel, Osman Mir, Ranjit Vank, Shashi Suman, Harshi Mad, Shruti Pathak, Vishwajeet Borwankar and more!

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee announced that it will conduct a hearing for Andrew Puzder, President-Elect Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Labor, on February 2. Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. franchise brands. Click here to read AAHOA’s full press release on the topic, where AAHOA President and CEO Chip Rogers applauds Puzder’s nomination. 

Tomorrow, January 20, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. Click here for a full list of this weekend’s festivities from Yahoo News.

While the new federal overtime rule has been defeated for the time being, legislators in Rhode Island, Maryland, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Michigan are planning to introduce legislation in an attempt to change the overtime threshold in their respective states. Click here for more information from Bloomberg, and stay tuned for legislative updates from the AAHOA Government Affairs team.

How will the new presidential administration impact your business in 2017 and onward? We would love to hear your thoughts. Click here and spend just 30 seconds filling out this Job Creators Nework (JCN) poll.

We are grateful to Congressman George Holding (R-NC) for taking the time to meet with AAHOA leaders late last week to discuss critical issues facing hoteliers in North Carolina and beyond. Pictured: AAHOA Chairman Bruce Patel, Jignesh Patel, Rep. George Holding, AAHOA North Carolina Regional Director Rashmikant "Haji" Patel and Jesal Patel. 

The Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association day at the state capitol in Richmond is less than one week away on Jan. 25–26. Register to attend now! VRLTA is AAHOA's official state partner, and all AAHOA members who live or do business in Virginia are needed at this year's event. You'll make an impact for your business and our entire industry by attending. You'll meet your state lawmakers and get a chance to network with hospitality professionals from around the state. Some of the most pressing issues we'll discuss include school start dates, funding for tourism promotion, and leveling the playing field with short-term online rental companies. Click here for VRLTA's legislative priority paper.

Catch AAHOA at the 41st annual Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Supply Show of the Southeast in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, January 24–26! AAHOA Account Executive, Business Development Lucas Cavanaugh will be manning the AAHOA booth and available to discuss sponsorship, advertising and membership opportunities. See you there!

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Newly announced plans could result in La Quinta Holdings spinning off its owned assets as a single-branded real estate investment trust as early as January 1, 2018, company officials said Thursday morning. On a conference call with analysts, La Quinta Holdings President and CEO Keith Cline said the company is pursuing the separation of its owned real estate and franchise and management businesses to grow and add value to the brand.

Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta thinks 2017 could, potentially, be a good year for corporate business travel, perhaps owing to the so-called "Trump Bump" or "Trump Effect" that’s being noted by some industry watchers and downplayed by others.

Is Airbnb a significant threat to the hotel industry? For the past few years, that question has been a hot topic for hospitality associations, city councils, hoteliers and tourism promoters across the globe. Now industry-watchers are getting a window into Airbnb’s place in the business.

For the first time since the 2006 election, the Republican Party will control both houses of Congress and the White House. But for many reasons, accomplishing their goals will be much more difficult and complex than meets the eye. Politics and antiquated traditions will intervene – and often – to stymy progress the leaders want to make. Nonetheless, there’s hope that AAHOA’s priorities will see significant progress.

In the rapidly changing digital marketplace, hotels are faced with a difficult balancing act. They want to attract as many guests as possible but don’t want so many of those guests booking through third-party intermediaries that commissions really start to eat into revenue growth. An empty hotel room benefits no one, but relying too heavily on online travel agencies (OTAs) and metasearch websites for customers comes at a hefty cost.

There’s no doubt that online travel agencies (OTAs) have gained market share over the years. And with that, commissions also have grown. According to Kalibri Labs’ recent report "Demystifying the Digital Marketplace," commissions paid to third parties rose at twice the rate of room revenue growth for the period from 2011 through 2015.