Northeast Regional Director Jayesh R. Patel and his Ambassadors hosted a Regional Conference & Trade Show in Syracuse, NY, on Monday. Featured speaker Thomas Buchan, VP of Park Strategies, LLC, stressed the importance of making advocacy a part of hoteliers' long-term business plans, while Chairwoman Jagruti Panwala delivered the AAHOA update. New AAHOA Silver Partner Primrose Schools® also held a session for hoteliers interested in diversifying their portfolios and exploring other franchising opportunities. 

Nearly 300 hoteliers turned out for the Southeast Texas Regional Conference & Trade Show in Houston last week hosted by Regional Director Sawan H. Patel and his Ambassadors. Scott Joslove, president & CEO of the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association, gave a legislative update and reaffirmed the importance of ending human trafficking, a fight AAHOA is spearheading in the industry. Chairwoman Jagruti Panwala, Vice Chairman Biran Patel, Treasurer Vinay Patel, and Secretary Nishant (Neal) Patel gave the AAHOA update.

This week in Columbia, MD, nearly 100 AAHOA Members furthered their professional development by attending AAHOA's popular two-day workshop, "How to Form a Management Company." With speakers covering every aspect of the business, attendees learned about operations, HR, accounting, procurement, IT, sales and marketing, and revenue management. A concluding tour of Baywood Hotels' home office allowed hoteliers to ask questions and see a successful management company in action.

AAHOA Secretary Nishant (Neal) Patel and Young Professional Director Western Division Miraj S. Patel will be featured speakers at the second annual IMN New Hotel Construction & Development (West) Conference, October 28-29 in Santa Monica, CA. Neal will share his thoughts from a millennial perspective on the "Reimagining Hospitality 10 Years from Now" panel, while Miraj will give insights on the "Revenue-Driving Trends in Architecture & Design" panel. Register today.

We're opening registration for the 2020 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show, set for April 13-16 in Orlando, FL, soon, and AAHOA is proud to launch a new registration experience through MyAAHOA.com. To ensure you’ll be able to quickly and easily register for Convention, and secure early-bird pricing, set up your MyAAHOA.com profile today to expedite the process when registration launches.

 

Head over to Facebook regularly to see our members doing great things around the nation! This week at Town Halls in Bentonville, AR, Albuquerque, NM, Amarillo, TX, and Springfield, MA, hotel owners gathered to hear from industry professionals on topics that matter most to them, including legislative updates on wage and labor issues, as well as human trafficking prevention and training. Shout out to Arkansas Regional Director Girish (Gary) Patel, Southwest Regional Director Imesh Vaidya, North Texas Regional Director Mayur (Mike) Patel, and Northeast Regional Director Jayesh R. Patel for hosting. Last week, Female Director Eastern Division Lina Patel and Alabama Regional Director Sanjay M. Patel also hosted the last Women Hoteliers Town Hall of the year in Birmingham.

Revitalized neighborhoods are driving demand and business in the Chicago area, so development opportunities abound. But what does this mean for hotel owners? Hear from revenue and operations experts on ways to positively influence your return on investment at the Hotel ROI Chicago on October 30. Powered by two of the most respected names in the hospitality industry, AAHOA and Hotel Management magazine, the Hotel ROI series features one-hour education sessions that deliver relevant, market-specific information to help hoteliers get the most from their assets.

Have you registered to attend HX: The Hotel Experience Powered by AAHOA? Watch AAHOA Chairwoman Jagruti Panwala in this video to learn more about what to expect at the show. With a Young Professionals Networking Reception, 24 AAHOA-curated educational sessions, and hundreds of exhibitors, there’s something for everyone. Register today using promo code AAHOA19 as rates increase on Nov. 2. We’ll see you in the Big Apple! 

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. 

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reports, “Luxury (+4.8%) was the strongest chain scale for branded hotels; Midscale was the weakest at -3.5%. Upper Midscale (-2.7%) also underperformed the industry average. Last week's results were heavily influenced by the calendar shift of Columbus Day and for some markets the y/y comp vs. Hurricane Michael. These results were evident when reviewing the day of week results by market.  1) Columbus Day calendar shift: The holiday shifted to October 14 in 2019 from October 8 last year. This shift benefitted Sunday RevPAR (+5.7%) but negatively impacted demand for the workweek (Monday-Wednesday RevPAR: -4.2%).  2)  Hurricane Michael y/y comp: We find the impact was mixed, given some markets received demand from coastal markets last year, whereas some markets may have had cancellations last year. (Our gut is that the Washington, D.C. RevPAR result of +18.5% was partly influenced by the y/y comp).”

AAHOA Members earn 5 percent of revenue back, reduce OTA fees, and improve your guest-review scores. Plus, get your own personal FREE AAHOA Member app that includes features such as SMS texting, GPS mapping, local-area content, push messaging, and more. This app will help drive more revenue and increase guest engagement at your property. Contact Troy (Email: ronan@zonetail.com) today to get started!

Auction.com, a subsidiary of Ten-X, is the world’s leading online real estate marketplace, having sold more than $26 billion in property since its first auction in 2007. Auction.com brings buyers and sellers together with an easy, transparent platform that yields the true value of any real estate asset. Visit the Ten-X website or email them for more info.

HotStats is a unique profit-and-loss benchmarking service for hoteliers, enabling AAHOA Members to find out monthly how your hotel stacks up against the competition. The platform provides in excess of 500 key performance indicators across multiple areas of hotel revenue, cost, and profit in a database that currently totals close to two million hotel rooms worldwide. Contact David Eisen , director of Hotel Intelligence and Customer Solutions, or visit the HotStats website today.

Any hotelier knows design has a huge impact on the guest experience. Award winners will be honored at the Gold Key Awards Gala, sponsored by Boutique Design magazine, on November 11 at Cipriani Midtown in Manhattan. The gala will recognize industry-changing designers for their contributions to hospitality and is a part of BD | NY, a trade fair being held in conjunction with HX: The Hotel Experience Powered by AAHOA. 

Sabre Corporation released a study highlighting the "Retail Revolution" among today's travelers. The hospitality industry can implement things typically seen in a retail-driven setting, such as smart spaces and smart devices.
(Source: Travel Daily News, Photo Credit)

Industry disruptors like Airbnb have been a thorn in the side of hoteliers for a while now. However, John Smallwood, CEO of Travel Outlook, reminds us that hoteliers aren't simply in the lodging industry but the hospitality industry. That difference may be too large for home sharing to overcome.
(Source: Hospitality Net, Photo Credit)