January is National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and AAHOA, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, and the NFL invite you to join the fight by participating in the No Room for Trafficking Regional Event, which kicks off today in Miami Beach, FL. "Through education and awareness initiatives, we are working to ensure that every hotel owner and their employees are trained to identify and respond to instances of human trafficking,” AAHOA President & CEO Cecil Staton said. Human trafficking affects 40 million people around the globe, and the hospitality industry has been at the forefront of the movement to eradicate it. This event will bring the industry together to train hotel owners and their 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, a global event that tends to generate a spike in trafficking incidents. Register online or email NRFT@ahla.com to learn more.

President & CEO Cecil Staton, Treasurer Vinay Patel, and COO & VP of Franchise Relations Rachel Humphrey will give AAHOA a prominent presence at the American Lodging and Investment Summit, January 27-29, in Los Angeles. Cecil will address the general session and also moderate an exceptional panel showcasing the outlook for development in 2020. Vinay and Rachel will focus on current legal matters of interest to hotel owners and operators at ALIS Law, which concentrates on the legal issues owners and operators face after closing the deal on a property. In addition, Rachel will join other high-level women industry executives for thought leadership and networking at AHLA’s ForWard at ALIS: Women's Leadership Forum.

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response, AAHOA is holding another drawing to win four FREE nights for the 2020 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show, set for April 13-16 in Orlando, FL. Register by Feb. 13, 2019, and you could be the lucky winner of free hotel accommodations at one of AAHOA’s host hotels.* And that's not all. Lifetime Members, if you register by Feb. 13, you'll qualify for complimentary registration. If you are not yet an AAHOA Lifetime Member, upgrade today to take advantage of this exclusive offer before you miss out.

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.

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, the AAHOA HOTEL OWNERS ACADEMY™ educated nearly 17,000 attendees, giving them 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. 

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reports, “Luxury (+12.1%) was the strongest chain scale for branded hotels; Midscale was the weakest at -2.2%. Upscale (+1.1%) and Upper Midscale (-0.4%) underperformed the industry average. Last week's results incorporated the calendar shift of New Year's Day to a Wednesday in 2020 from a Tuesday in 2019. Given the midweek holiday, the benefit went to leisure properties as expected. Corporate-oriented hotels that have no great leisure demand (i.e., suburban corporate select-service) had relative underperformance. Given the continued wealth effect, Luxury had strong results as we had anticipated and actually better than we previously forecasted. Also lifting the headline and Luxury RevPAR were particularly strong results in high-rated markets: (Oahu was +22.4% for the week, Miami +16.3%, and NYC +8.9%).”

 

Ecolab, the global industry leader in hotel cleaning and sanitization, offers preferred pricing to AAHOA Members. Save on laundry, housekeeping, kitchen, pool and spa chemical programs, and more! For more information, please contact Michael Pfister, visit the website, or call 952-852-0926 today!

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.

AAHOA Members, get preferred access to the market's best rates and terms. Non-recourse bridge and permanent loans, as well as refinance and acquisition hotel loans available. LTVs up to 75 percent off with potential for cash-out. Visit the website, then contact Rushi Shah for a no-obligation pre-approval.

Hotels collect highly sensitive, valuable, and varied personal data on their guests. And because hotels strive to provide personalized experiences, they tend to collect and store this customer data. So, protecting guests’ personal data from cyber attacks has become increasingly important, especially since the hospitality industry has experienced a growing number of breaches. According to the UAE Internal Auditors Association, internal auditors must critically evaluate the cyber footprint of their organizations in order to improve cyber resilience.

In order to stay viable in an ultra competitive market, hotel owners need to stay abreast of the rapid-fire advances in technology that fundamentally change how travelers interact with the hospitality industry and alter their expectations for their guest experience. Guestline Chief Technical Officer Andrew Metcalfe offers his expertise into how the hospitality industry can stay competitive in the forthcoming year.

There are many new challenges that the travel and tourism industry will have to face in the future of global change, as some markets expand and others contract. The familiar rules of tourism may no longer apply in the growing global economy, where no industry, nation, or economy will be an island unto itself. At the forefront of these economic changes and challenges, the manner in which the travel and tourism industry adapts to new economic and environmental shifts will impact the world's economy for the foreseeable future.