Chairman Biran Patel, Vice Chair Vinay Patel, and Treasurer Nishant (Neal) Patel joined a host of other industry experts for Day 1 of Hotel Optimization 2: A Virtual Event today. The two-day event, held in partnership with AAHOA, brings together hospitality leaders to provide clear insight, opinion, and forecasting to help you better understand your options for getting back to profitability in the wake of COVID-19. Today, the panelists discussed tools to help your team cope with stress, creative ways to fill rooms when occupancy is down, strategies for boosting F&B revenue, how to decipher which new technology is worth your money and more! Day 2 will be held September 24. Click here to view the full agenda and session descriptions, and to register for your FREE pass!

AAHOA Chairman Biran Patel will be among the featured speakers at the IMN Distressed Hotel Forum on September 15. Patel and other industry experts will share insight and expertise on "The Road to Recovery: State of the Hospitality Industry" panel where they will take a deep dive into which service models and hotel subtypes are proving more resilient in today’s market and which are likely to weather a downturn, to what extent short-term rentals will impact the hotel industry, what U.S. hotel performance data indicates about the potential long-term impact of COVID-19 on occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, and more. The IMN Distressed Hotel Forum brings together hotel owners/developers, private equity funds, lenders, design/construction professionals, and other senior-level hotel executives to identify untapped value drivers in the distressed hotel space. Register today.

In a recent Morning Consult survey, 61 percent of respondents said concerns about COVID-19 affect their decision "a lot" on when to travel and a whopping 72 percent said concerns about cleanliness and sanitization affect their decision "a lot" on whether to stay in a hotel. To help ensure your hotel passes muster, AAHOA has partnered with P&G Professional, a worldwide leader and trusted name in professional-grade cleaning products, to create the AAHOA/P&G Professional’s Training in Hotel Sanitization and Cleanliness. This all-digital program covers what hoteliers need to know as it relates to the effective sanitization of their property, including infection prevention and control, high-touch points, sanitizing soft surfaces, communications, elevating the guest experience, and more! This program is completely FREE and is available not only to AAHOA Members but to the entire hospitality industry. Download our infographic to learn more and sign up for this valuable training today!

In the wake of the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry, AAHOA is bringing you a series of webcasts that will keep you informed and help determine next steps for your business. We have educated more than 30,000 hoteliers to date and feature more than 160 webcasts separated by category in our library. AAHOA is making these webcasts available to the industry, so be sure to share with those in your network, whether they're an AAHOA Member or not. 

 

• Getting Back to Business: Restoring Travel, Together, 3-3:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, September 10
• Getting Back to Business: Considerations and Practicalities for Returning Employees to Work, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT Friday, September 11
• Getting Back to Business: Smart Hotels & an IoT Reality – What Guests Really Want in Their Rooms that Can Save You Money, 3-3:30 p.m. EDT Monday, September 14
• Getting Back to Business: Human-Centered Hospitality to Improve Your Business, 11-11:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, September 15
• Getting Back to Business: Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Management – A Checklist for Employers, 3-3:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, September 15
• Getting Back to Business: Ensuring Your Business Payments Are Safe, 11-11:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, September 16
• Getting Back to Business: Budget Season – Predicting Labor Costs in the COVID-19 Era, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, September 16
• Getting Back to Business: Industry Leaders Share Their Secrets to Cut Waste and Stand Out, 3-3:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, September 16
• Getting Back to Business: Why Cleaning for Health Matters to Your Hotel Guests, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, September 17
• Getting Back to Business: Deducting Hotel Renovation Costs for Maximum Tax Reduction, 11-11:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, September 22
• Getting Back to Business: How Organizations Mitigate Internal and External Threats, 3-3:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, September 22
• Getting Back to Business: Why Cleaning for Health Matters to Your Hotel Guests (Part 2), 1-1:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, September 24

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!

Coast to Coast Computer Products, Inc.™ is a nationwide partner for all of your ink and toner needs. With over 27 years of experience, we offer OEM ink and toner as well as an OEM alternative, our Diamond Series™ cartridges. Coast to Coast is thrilled to announce a new height of dedication to AAHOA and an additional level of service to you. Effective immediately, Coast to Coast has launched a new toll-free number, (800) 231-4553, exclusive to AAHOA Members that directly connects you to your very own ink and toner specialist. Each specialist has been trained with the AAHOA Member in mind, providing a simple solution for all of your printing needs. Call and ask for the AAHOA program by name to learn how you can start saving money today.

AAHOA has joined with the University of Houston Conrad Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management to create a AAHOA Scholarship. AAHOA will contribute a total of $125,000 to UH over five years, beginning in 2016. The contributions will be matched by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, creating a $250,000 fund to be named the AAHOA Student Assistantship & Scholarship Endowment. To find out more about the qualifications or how to apply, please click here.

COVID-19 has changed how hotels operate and it also has changed the way hoteliers look at marketing and sales. Hoteliers can audit their marketing and sales strategies and refocus the plans to address the effects of COVID-19 and recovery.

In order to battle COVID-19, hoteliers must begin “the great rethinking” – changing the way we define guests. With travel numbers tanking, the definition of a guest as staying overnight needs to be reconsidered. One way to do that is by catering to remote workers.

As the effects of COVID-19 continue to reverberate in the hotel industry, there is positive news for some places. Niagara Falls, NY, is a huge tourist destination. While the town has seen its fair share of drops from COVID-19, its numbers are slightly less bleak.