Quarterly reports from AAHOA Founding Member Marcus & Millichap are now available at no cost to AAHOA members! These reports include extremely valuable national and state hotel-industry data and are designed to keep you informed and help you maximize the return on your investment. The reports are provided ONLY via email, so watch your inbox! 

The 2017 South Pacific Regional is going on now at the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center in Pomona, California. Hosted in cooperation with the California Hotel & Lodging Association, this year’s South Pacific Regional is packed with valuable industry info spread across eight concurrent educational sessions from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Join South Pacific Regional Director Timesh (Timmy) Patel and the South Pacific ambassadors in the afternoon for a busy trade show, a regional update, a special young professionals education session, and plenty of networking opportunities during the AAHOA business lunch and the afternoon reception.

On Tuesday, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) relaunched its "Faces of $15" website, an online portal that documents several victims of dramatic starter wage increases. This site features over 100 stories of businesses negatively impacted by extreme wage regulations, including hotels. 

Last week, on May 17 and 18, AAHOA and AH&LA partnered to produce the largest advocacy conference in the hospitality industry. Nearly 475 attendees participated by attending educational sessions, networking receptions and nearly 275 legislative meetings on Capitol Hill. Be sure to stay tuned for information about the Fall National Advocacy Conference (FNAC) in October. 

Grab your clubs, and join AAHOA next week for the Southwest Regional Meeting and golf tournament! The golf tournament will kick off at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31, and benefit the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and Casa Esperanza. Want to play? Click here to register! On Thursday, June 1, head over to Isleta Resort & Casino for a day of education, networking, and important industry and regional updates! Click here for more info on the regional meeting.

Hotels receive guest feedback and reviews from various sources every day. Hear five strategies that you should be utilizing right now to effectively respond to good and bad guest feedback and improve rankings and service scores.

● Money back at closing

● No obligation pre-approval

● Non-recourse bridge and permanent loans

● LTVs up to 75 percent with potential for cash out

Contact Rushi Shah today at rshah@ariescapital.com

The efficiency and profitability of select-service hotels continue to drive investors to those brands, according to speakers at the recent Meet the Money conference. Talking during the "Why select service continues to be a favorite" panel, Ron Kim, SVP of real estate for Prospera Hotels had a simple answer to that question. "They make money," he said.

Arguably, one of the biggest perks of staying in an extended stay hotel is the use of a kitchen, and enterprising brands within the space are looking for innovative ways to help guests take advantage of this unique amenity. One of those brands includes Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham. Last year, the brand launched a "Homemade @ Hawthorn" program that features a collection of chef-designed recipes for guests to use during their stay.

If, after a guest checks into his or her room at the Aloft Boston Seaport Hotel, something isn’t quite right—the heat needs to be cranked up or a light dimmed—there’s no need to call the front desk or even move. The world’s first voice-activated hotel room takes voice commands. Powered through an in-room iPad, Project Jetson employs a custom app and HomeKit-enabled accessories.

Leaders of the hotel industry have a lot on their plates from juggling the day to day, to worrying about larger issues at hand that will affect current and future business in an industry that supports millions of jobs. Even so, many top leaders recognize that for a versatile industry such as hospitality, challenges can become opportunities and risks can pay off in big ways. Six of the industry’s top leaders spoke with Today’s Hotelier about those challenges and opportunities.

One of the greatest challenges that you face as an owner or asset manager is stepping back from the day-to-day and delegating unencumbered operating responsibility to your on-property team. Not doing so can have disastrous effects.

If you want to succeed with today’s modern traveler and hotel guests – including the oversized millennial generation – as well as their elders, you should be benchmarking and learning from Virgin Hotels.