The 2021 AAHOA Northwest Charity Golf Tournament, held Monday at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, OR, is in the books! Regional Director Hiten Patel and the Ambassadors welcomed a packed field that enjoyed a beautiful day of golf and networking and raised tens of thousands of dollars for Make A Wish, BEST, and Autism Society of Oregon. We have one golf event left on our 2021 schedule, the 2021 AAHOA North Carolina Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday and Sunday, so be sure to sign up and help us support worthwhile charities and ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts.

We officially kicked off our 2021 Regional Conference & Trade Show schedule on Tuesday with the 2021 AAHOA Northwest Regional Conference & Trade Show in Vancouver, WA. We introduced a brand-new format that included a region-specific education session, a reveal of national and state-specific data from the recently announced AAHOA-Oxford study, and an open forum where members could ask questions and share feedback. Next up is the 2021 AAHOA Arkansas Regional Conference & Trade Show in Little Rock taking place today. Check the events calendar to find the one near you.

AAHOA Members all understand how critical it is to end human trafficking. BEST recently announced updates to the Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) Inhospitable to Human Trafficking Training Sponsored by AAHOA program. The new updates include a discussion about unconscious bias, the recent development of contactless technologies because of the pandemic, more visual representation of boys and men, and a printable toolkit to supplement the online training course. It's up to ALL of us to end this scourge. Get yourself and your employees trained today!

We are excited to announce a new Silver Partner, Graniti Vicentia Group! From ideation through installation, Graniti Vicentia offers a comprehensive array of services to meet your aesthetic and functional needs. Supplying a variety of beautiful products within the design space, they manage your project every step of the way—from custom design solutions to the sourcing and procurement of imported furnishings and finishes to professional on-site assembly for a turnkey installation. Their holistic approach saves you time and money.

Truist Securities (formerly SunTrust Robinson Humphrey) reports, “Last week’s RevPAR was up against a -46.1% comparable result in 2020 vs. -46.1% in the prior week’s 2-year run-rate. On a 2-year run-rate, RevPAR was -4.5% vs. -3.0% in the prior week’s 2-year run-rate. Upscale RevPAR: +81.2% y/y and -14.0% over 2 years; Upper Midscale RevPAR: +66.1% y/y and +0.7% over 2 years. Year-over-year lodging results were sequentially slightly softer vs. the prior week (week ending 8/14/21), to which we attribute three factors: the rise of the Delta variant impacting demand, seasonality/back-to-school, and Tropical Storm Henri's impact to the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast. The storm impact may show up more in next week's data results; we did not discern a material impact to NYC or Boston in the STR results for last week. Effectively, we view last week's results as relatively steady. However, we view the lodging recovery/improvement as stalled, likely due to the Delta variant and seasonality.”

 

HBO, the oldest and most award-winning premium channel in the U.S., is offering AAHOA Members the chance to earn money back. Members get a rebate of $9 per room (5-year contract) or $7 per room (3-or 4-year contract) when they add or renew HBO at their properties. Click here today to complete the rebate form and get started.

From the beginning, every Amana® brand product has been made with the same core philosophy: to provide our customers with high-quality products that are reliable, meet their needs, and last longer than the rest. And we keep that philosophy firmly in mind as we build our industry-leading Amana brand Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners (PTACs) and other heating and cooling products. Amana brand PTACs are designed to simplify your business with plain-and-simple product durability and advanced energy management features, while helping you to create the best environmental experience possible for your customer. For more information, contact Byron Cortez or check out the website.

AAHOA has partnered with IWBI to support hoteliers in successfully getting back to business, strengthen pandemic recovery efforts, and reassure guests and staff alike with health and safety guidance and education. IWBI introduced the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management to help organizations get back to business with confidence. AAHOA Members save 25% on WELL Health-Safety Rating enrollment fees. Log in to MyAAHOA.com and click on "International WELL Building Institute" in the vendor directory to obtain your discount code and enroll today! (Click the "See More" dropdown to access the code.)

Throughout the pandemic, hoteliers often cited temporary unemployment benefits as a primary factor preventing many workers from returning to the industry. With those benefits soon to expire in many states, experts are warning of additional factors that could continue to cause shortages within the workforce.

With many hoteliers continuing to to deal with a sluggish economy, thanks to COVID-19's Delta variant, rising labor costs and a persistent shortage of workers are creating new problems for an industry already facing myriad challenges. 

The pandemic has created countless opportunities for hoteliers to address roadblocks while identifying areas of improvement, recovery, and even growth. As discussed in this article, the hoteliers navigating the current uncertainties better than their peers are addressing several key areas within their operations.