Congratulations to Binal Patel, the winner of our sweepstakes to win 4 FREE hotel nights in Orlando, FL, during the 2020 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show. We look forward to seeing you there, Binal! To all of you who also wanted to win the sweepstakes, you can still be a winner. Register by Feb. 13, 2020, to secure early-bird pricing and save big. Lifetime Members, register by that same deadline and you will receive complimentary registration.** If you are not yet an AAHOA Lifetime Member, now is a great time to upgrade to take advantage of this exclusive offer!

Effective Jan. 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor increased the salary threshold for the Fair Labor Standards Act's white-collar exemptions. This webinar, titled "USDOL Overtime Rule 2.0: What You Need to Know" and presented by John Mavros, a partner at Fisher Phillips, will teach AAHOA Members how to comply with the DOL's 2020 rule and how to determine whether your salaried employees are properly classified. Employers should take note as this change will expand an employer's overtime pay obligations.

 

AAHOA is currently accepting nominations for all open positions on the Board of Directors, including the newly created Greater Los Angeles Area Regional Director. Nominations are due by Feb. 16, 2020. Nominees must comply with each of the qualifications set out in AAHOA Bylaws Art. V (2), the Board Member & Officer Nominations Policy, and the Board Member & Officers Elections Policy, all available in full here.

January is National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and AAHOA, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association invite you to join the fight by participating in the No Room for Trafficking Regional Event on January 9 in Miami Beach, FL. The hospitality industry has long been working to end this scourge, and this event will further that goal by bringing the industry together and training hotel employees in identifying and preventing sex and labor trafficking. The NFL also will officially launch It’s a Penalty, the league's latest human trafficking prevention campaign, ahead of Super Bowl LIV. Register online or email NRFT@ahla.com to learn more.

Do you know a hotelier who you feel has gone above and beyond? Help us recognize industry leaders and stars at the 2020 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show, April 13-16, in Orlando, FL, where the following awards will be presented: 

The deadline to submit nominations is February 3. You do not need to be an AAHOA Member to submit a nomination.

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. 

This year, nearly 17,000 AAHOA Members took advantage of the AAHOA HOTEL OWNERS ACADEMY™, where they had 24/7/365 access to more than 350+ on-demand webinars and in-person workshops via MyAAHOA. Don't miss out. See what everyone else is learning about and continue your professional development now. Here's what was top of mind for hoteliers in 2019:

1. ICE Audits on the Rise This Summer
2. Comply with Web Accessibility Standards Today  
3. Labor Costs: How to Lower Your Biggest Expense
4. Labor: How To Turn Your Biggest Expense Into Your Best Investment
5. Avoid Overpaying on Your Hotel Property Taxes
6. Front Desk: The Forgotten Sales Department

An accurate 2020 Census is vital to hoteliers, as the once-a-decade head count of everyone living in the U.S. provides important data on communities, including trends in the population, growth projections, and demographic information. This information helps hotels and other businesses make better-informed decisions regarding expansions, closures, hiring strategies, and other business practices. Watch the webinar, The 2020 Census and Your Hotel Business, to learn more about the importance of the 2020 Census.

AAHOA's exclusive members-only webinars provide insights on the latest topics and ideas in hotel ownership. Accessible via MyAAHOA.com, sign in today to browse topics, track your professional development goals, and review all of AAHOA's educational offerings. 

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 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.

Cleanliness and health are major concerns for all hospitality industry businesses. Because of this, harsh and toxic chemicals have found their way into most hotel cleaning products. Step one is familiarizing yourself with the chemicals used by your staff and noting if staff and/or guests have made complaints.

AARP has partnered with AHLA to help prevent online booking scams with hotels. The AARP Fraud Watch Network aims to educate consumers about booking scams that are particularly targeting seniors. The education tips include advising consumers to book on the official website of the hotel and to call the hotel after booking to confirm the reservation, among others.

The hotel industry has gone through a myraid of changes through the end of the decade. Mergers and acquisitions brought more chains together, the industry focused on "going green," and a given hotel's operations and layout have changed drastically.
^{(Source: The Points Guy, Photo Credit)}