Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced its 2019 award winners last week at the Wyndham Global Conference in Las Vegas, and several AAHOA Members were among the honorees. Nalini Patel and Rupesh Patel won the inaugural Wyndham Humanitarian Award; Subodh and Mahesh Patel won Economy Hotel of the Year; and Himanshu Patel received top prize for Midscale Hotel of the Year and Overall Hotel of the Year. 

AAHOA Interim President & CEO Rachel Humphrey was a featured speaker Monday at the EconoLodge Franchisees Association of America/Rodeway Owners Association Atlanta Regional event. Rachel stressed the importance of continued communication between owners and their brands. She also explained that because hotel owners have eyes in every city across the nation, AAHOA is on a mission to train every hotelier in America to recognize the signs of human trafficking. She challenged everyone to take AAHOA's free online training because together we can make a difference in this important fight.

AAHOA Treasurer Vinay Patel will be a featured speaker at the Hospitality International Convention in Atlantic City, NJ, October 7-9. The theme for the convention is "Accelerating Growth, Imagining the Possibilities," and Vinay will give an overview of AAHOA, as well as association hot topics and upcoming events, as they relate to that theme. Hospitality International Convention is an annual event for all franchisees of Hospitality International, which includes Red Carpet Inns, Scottish Inns, and others. Register today.

RLH Corporation has expanded its WILL (Women in Leadership & Learning) to include their franchisee community and is inviting women franchisees and women leaders at the property level to participate in its WILL Leadership Development Series. The final, 90-minute webinar in the series is "5 Behaviors of an Effective Team" (Oct. 22) and will be conducted by top organizational psychologist and human resources expert Michelle Crosby, PhD. Female Director Eastern Division Lina Patel will be the guest speaker. Register today.

With eyes in every city across America, hotel owners are uniquely situated to make a difference in the fight against human trafficking. Media coverage this week broadcasted AAHOA, AHLA, and GHLA's efforts across the nation. 

Young Professionals, the newly reimagined HX: The Hotel Experience Powered by AAHOA is coming up on November 10-11 and it will feature a special networking reception designed just for you to hobnob with like-minded industry pros. There also will be 24 educational sessions curated by AAHOA especially for HX, as well as hundreds of top-name exhibitors at the expo. And did we mention it's being held in New York City? Register today using promo code AAHOA19 and save!

Head over to Facebook regularly to see our members doing great things around the nation! Last week, we hosted Town Halls in San Francisco and Florence, KY, and seven of our members won awards at the Wyndham Global Conference. This week, we held events from one coast to the other, with Town Halls in Sarasota, FL, Clarksville, TN, San Antonio, TX, West Memphis, AR, Cedar Park, TX, Pasco, WA, Fort Stockton, TX, and Winchester, VA.

 

Join us for the Regional Conference & Trade Show closest to you for access to top vendors, incredible networking opportunities, and region-specific industry updates you won't see anywhere else. Open to all hoteliers, and AAHOA Lifetime Members receive a free gift for attending. 

Town Halls are a great opportunity to build your professional network and to learn more about AAHOA programs and resources available to help you strengthen every aspect of your business. These events are open to all hotel owners, even if you're not already a member. 

AAHOA will present a "How to Form a Management Company" workshop on October 22-23 in Columbia, MD. This valuable workshop will walk you through how to transform your enterprise into a hotel management company. Top industry experts will share best practices and innovative organizational initiatives to help you achieve success. Don't miss it! Register today.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reports, "Luxury (+0.6%) was the strongest chain scale for branded hotels; Upper Upscale was the weakest at -2.7%. Upper Midscale (-0.5%) and Midscale (-0.6%) slightly outperformed the industry average. As we anticipated, there were many puts and takes to last week's lodging performance given calendar shifts in 2018 and 2019. In the y/y comp, there was a material corporate demand recovery following the completion of the 2018 Jewish High Holidays (Group RevPAR was +27.2% for the week ending 9/29/18; US RevPAR was +9.1%). Similarly, the week ending 9/28/19 represented the last non-holiday week before the 2019 High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah commenced on Sunday night); we assume there was still strong corporate demand the week before the holiday."

 

 

We offer conventional, SBA, and USDA loans in all 50 states. AAHOA Members can get terms up to 26 years with competitive bank rates with no prepayment penalties for loans under 15 years. We have creative capital structures for all your needs, including ground-up construction, acquisitions and conversions, renovations and upgrades, real estate purchases, working capital, and refinancing. Click here to learn more, then contact Rickman Davis today to get started.

Sonu Satellite is a leading national hospitality supplier of entertainment technology and amenities. Our company has been serving hotel owners from coast to coast for more than 20 years. Our knowledgeable staff, diverse distribution channels, and vast network of technicians are focused on providing top-notch customer service to our ever-growing roster of national accounts. Contact Neil Doshi, visit the website, or call 877-999-7668 for current pricing and promotions on a vast array of hospitality products and services.

Better Buildings provides hotel owners with free technology solutions, market expertise, and a network of peers to identify cost-saving efficiency measures. Visit the department website, then contact Holly Carr for more information on the U.S. Department of Energy's drive to make the nation’s homes, commercial buildings, and industrial plants more energy efficient.

With an increased number of millennials and the like looking for experiential travel options, a big-brand hotel chain may not be the first choice. This is allowing independent and boutique hotels to fill that niche and increase bookings. David Bowd of Salt Hotels explains how the brand is unique, and how they're working with travel retailers to sell these intimate boutique hotel experiences.
(Source: Travel Pulse)

Today's 24/7 culture means that conversational marketing is absolutely necessary to run a competitive business. The hospitality industry by its nature aims to please the guest, which means it is well-suited to quickly adapt conversational marketing techniques like online messengers. When implementing the technology, there are a few questions hoteliers should ask themselves, such as "Is my hotel ready to handle the increasing amount of direct messaging?" and "How will we track the ROI of our conversational marketing efforts?"
(Source: Hotel News Resource)

Hospitality industry data analytics company STR annouced that it is being acquired by CoStar Group, a provider of commercial real estate data. The acquisition is expected to close in fourth quarter of 2019 for $450 million cash. "This combination also represents an outstanding career opportunity for all of our employees around the world," Amanda Hite, STR’s president and CEO, said.
(Source: The Tennessean)