Laura Lee Blake, Esq., will be the new President and CEO of AAHOA, effective May 16, 2022. Blake will succeed Ken Greene, who served in the role for a short time in 2021 and part of 2022. Blake has been an attorney for more than 25 years and brings decades of experience in the fields of law, government, business, and academia to AAHOA. Blake previously worked for AAHOA for nearly 10 years, from 2005 to 2014, and says it was one of the highlights of her career. “I’m excited to be AAHOA’s next President and CEO, grateful for the Board’s support and faith in me, and deeply committed to serving this great organization,” Blake said. “With its more than 20,000 members who own 60% of all hotels in the U.S., I am truly honored to have a role in strengthening the position of AAHOA to serve as the one and only voice and foremost advocate for America’s hotel owners.”

 

We are extremely excited for Blake to take the helm of AAHOA. To read further about her background, plans for AAHOA, and more, click here.

The May issue of Today's Hotelier hits newsstands this week! Our new Chairman, Neal Patel, is featured in the issue's cover story, "Letter from the Chairman: The Best is Yet to Come," where he discusses the road to recovery, leadership training, and more. To read the full article and explore the rest of the content in the May issue, check out this link, and to subscribe to Today's Hotelier magazine, click here.

 

Things are kicking off in the month of May! The Los Angeles Regional, our first Regional event of the year, happens next week on Tuesday, May 10 in Los Angeles, CA. Following this is the North Pacific Regional, which takes place in San Jose, CA on Thursday, May 12. Finally, the first Charity Golf Tournament of the season takes place in Cincinnatti, OH on Wednesday, May 25 at the beautiful Glenview Golf Course. These events are the perfect opportunity to make new connections with fellow hoteliers and vendors, so be sure to take advantage! If you are unable to attend the first two Regionals or the upcoming golf tournament, fear not, as we have three other golf tournaments on the calendar, as well as Regionals throughout the country until the end of the year. For a full list of AAHOA events, visit our Calendar of Events so you can sign up for everything you don't want to miss!

During AAHOACON22, AAHOA introduced its updated 12 Points of Fair Franchising (the “12 Points”) as an educational primer. The revised 12 Points gives an overview of what AAHOA recommends as the best-practice approach to designing, developing, and implementing best-in-class, mutually beneficial franchise systems. Dr. Jay S. Patel, former Chair of the AAHOA Franchise and Industry Relations Committee, posed an often-asked question to the two attorneys on the panel, Laura Lee Blake and Himanshu Patel, “Why doesn’t AAHOA do anything about franchising?” The attorneys explained that interfering with duly executed contracts could be deemed tortious interference with contract – a position in which AAHOA does not seek to find itself. AAHOA, however, may provide its members and the industry with the information and areas of concern to better understand, question, and discuss franchise agreements before signing – hence, the launch of the 12 Points as an educational primer. This is a tool designed to serve AAHOA’s members by contributing to a mutually beneficial, long-term franchise relationship.

Check out our lineup of events coming your way over the next few months! Make plans to join us by registering today. (All times are local.)

Truist Securities reports, “Last week’s RevPAR was up against a +187.6% comparable result in 2021 vs. +220.7% in the prior week. On a 3-year run-rate (vs. 2019), RevPAR was +6.4% vs. +10.5% in the prior week’s 3-year run-rate. Upscale RevPAR: +63.2% y/y and -1.0% over 3 years; Upper Midscale RevPAR: +36.5% y/y and +6.9% over 3 years. The biggest factor in last week's results vs. the prior week is leisure as a lower part of the demand mix (Spring Break impact fading) and more difficult y/y comps for that part of the mix. Some earnings calls have noted May as the weakest month of 2Q which we interpret as due to less leisure. Positively, we see several signs of improving trends in the midweek from corporate and group travel (in part from reduced leisure travel). Group occupancy vs. 2019 was -12% last week vs. the running 28 days of -18%. We note the increased importance of the recovery of business travel (individual and group/convention) as we shift into May/pre-summer leisure season.” 

 

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The members of AHIA specialize in hospitality industry legal issues and have a minimum of five years' experience for in-house counsel and 10 years' experience for outside counsel. All AHIA members are committed to promoting professionalism, continuing education, and improved communication, which creates a network of competent experienced attorneys committed to improving legal services throughout the hospitality industry. Access their nationwide directory to find a hospitality industry lawyer near you.