AAHOA Female Director Western Division Tejal Patel joined Tom Groebe, Kyle Allison, and Greg Fregoso on HospitalityMD's "The PM Shift" podcast on Sunday, September 25.

 

Tejal discussed her position within AAHOA, how she got her start in the hospitality industry, the stigma surrounding women in hospitality to maintain a specific appearance, and much more.

 

During the interview, Patel shared, “If you care about your business and your industry, [AAHOA] is one of the ways to do it. Get involved with an association and be an informed member of hospitality. Leadership came out of a place where I felt like I was ready to cultivate those skills and I felt like I could bring value and make a difference.”

 

AAHOA is proud to have a female director who is keen on blazing her own trail while also helping other women hoteliers succeed and have access to increased opportunities. Patel will have the opportunity to speak to hundreds of women hoteliers at the upcoming AAHOA Women in Hotel Ownership Conference & Retreat, happening in October at the Radisson Hotel Cincinnati Riverfront.

 

To listen to the full podcast episode and hear more of what Tejal and the hosts discuss, click here.

For more information on HospitalityMD, check out their website.

 

Louisiana-based hotelier and AAHOA Lifetime Member Vimal Patel is one of the plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit by IHG franchisees against the company, based on a cyberattack that "significantly disrupted" its booking channels and other applications in mid-September.

 

The lawsuit claims that IHG should have taken further preventative measures to prevent the breach in light of warnings it received after a previous breach. Vimal previously filed another lawsuit against IHG in 2021 over the company’s fees and preferred vendor program.

 

“These hackers were not pros and they were still able to do the damage. The lame password used is complete opposite of the hotel users’ password requirements when we have to access our own system,” he said. “Also, IHG charges $16.40 per room per month in technology fees in addition to a 8 cent per transaction fee for credit cards. It forces franchisees to replace hardware every three to four years at a cost of approximately $40,000 to $55,000. So, why are franchisees always left on their own to gather losses and IHG cannot be held accountable?”

 

“IHG owes its franchisees transparency,” said Laura Lee Blake AAHOA President & CEO. “IHG has not been forthcoming in explaining the outage to AAHOA-Member hotel owners, who bore the brunt of revenue losses from bookings missed due to the disruptions. As the world’s largest hotel trade association, we speak for thousands of small business owners who deserve an explanation, as well as being made whole for these preventable losses.”

 

To read the full article, click here

The Employee Retention Credit has been one of the most beneficial tax credits available to hotels that have been financially impacted by COVID-19. Due to various updates and changes to the legislation, there remain many misconceptions about business eligibility, which has resulted in an underutilization of this tax credit.

 

If you think you don't qualify, it's time to take a second look. You can claim up to $26k per employee.

 

Text Vivek Arora to find out how much you may be eligible for: 781-985-2784.

Ready to hop on a call? Schedule here.

September may be nearly over, but AAHOA events are not slowing down! Check out our lineup of events coming your way. Make plans to join us by registering today. (All times are local.)

Truist Securities reports, “Last week’s RevPAR was up against a +78.4% comparable result in 2021 vs. +75.8% in the prior week. On a 3-year run-rate (vs. 2019), RevPAR was +13.9% vs. +12.9% in the prior week’s 3-year run-rate. We see the y/y strength driven by the timing of the Jewish Holidays. This was most evident in the abnormally strong result for the Group segment, up 61% y/y. For the results vs. 2019, we see this as a clean comp and a result about 300bps higher than the average of the prior 10 weeks.  Upscale RevPAR: +35.5% y/y and +7.5% over 3 years; Upper Midscale RevPAR: +18.2% y/y and +13.5% over 3 years.”

For more, read the full report here, and read the China/Europe report here.

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 visit the website, then contact Michael Pfister (Michael.pfister@ecolab.com) or call 952-852-0926 today!

Marcus & Millichap is a leading commercial real estate brokerage firm focusing exclusively on investment sales, financing, research, and advisory services. The firm has perfected a powerful property marketing system that integrates broker specialization by property type and market area, has relationships with the largest pool of qualified investors, and uses state-of-the-art technology to match buyers and sellers. Contact them by email (alexis.hummel@marcusmillichap.com) or visit the website today.

AAHOA Members get a 25% discount on the STAR report (during the 1st year of enrollment), 15% discount on Pipeline reports, and a 10% discount on the School Break Report. Click here to view additional benefits, then contact STR at (615) 824-8664, ext. 3504 or info@str.com to get started.

After several years of pandemic-related uncertainty, the hospitality industry appears to be laregly unconcerned about a potential economic recession, thanks to the skills acquired during one of the most difficult periods in industry history.

With growing numbers of restaurants implementing touchscreen interfaces, what lessons can these now-veterans of this emerging technology offer to hoteliers?

According to a recent survey, a majority of hoteliers expect significant growth in the incentive travel market in the near future, with similar numbers of properties suggesting that this segment is of vital importance for future profitability.