Serving on the AAHOA Board of Directors provides a rewarding opportunity to help drive the strategic direction of a national association dedicated to advancing and protecting the interests of hotel owners. Open positions and eligibility requirements are available at 2023 AAHOA Board Elections.

 

 

Answer the call to volunteer and serve! To apply, click here: 2023-2024 Director Nomination Form.

AAHOA continues its 12 Points Educational Webinar Series in the new year. The Point 7 webinar is now available and covers the importance of Franchisors to maintain and build relationships with Franchisees. The latest webinar features President & CEO Laura Lee Blake, Vice Chairman Bharat Patel, and Lifetime Member Akshat Patel discussing the importance of Point 7 and concerns that arise from the renewal process, amenity creep, marketing and advertising fees, and more!

 

"Transparency is a word that has been overused, but I think it has been underutilized," AAHOA Vice Chairman Bharat Patel explained. "You should know going in what it is going to cost. Right now, there's a situation where there are new fees that could be compounded on a quarterly or annual basis, and you're paying it monthly, but these new fees are being introduced. As you're entering the relationship, you know what is expected of you and what is expected of them, and that's what makes a great relationship."

 

If you haven't already done so, download AAHOA's Educational Primer and the 12 Points Questionnaire. These tools provide extensive details on the 12 Points of Fair Franchising and questions to help guide your conversation with Franchisors.

 

Review the webinars for Points 1-6 and join us as we continue to highlight important aspects of franchise agreements, ensuring, ultimately, more fairness in the franchise system.

DEI Advisors, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering personal success by sharing insights and learnings from industry leaders, has launched a weekly podcast that brings practical advice and insightful perspectives from hospitality industry professionals with the goal to inspire future leaders and improve their career trajectories.

 

The hosts of the DEI Advisors podcast include David Kong, founder of DEI Advisors, Rachel Humphrey, Lan Elliott, and Dorothy Dowling.

 

The podcast features interviews from industry leaders like Seema Jain, Founder & CEO of Seva Global, Amanda Hite, President of STR, and more! If you are interested in listening to the DEI Advisors Podcast, visit their webpage here.

 

To learn more about DEI Advisors, visit their website here.

As reported in HOTELS Magazine, in a letter last July, Marriott International, the largest hotel company in the world by number of rooms, outlined its intent to end its longtime relationship with AAHOA in response to the organization's 12 Points of Fair Franchising, which Marriott claims runs counter to its business model and interests.

 

"Promoting fair franchising has been the lifeblood of AAHOA and its members since 1998," Blake said. "By creating and promoting fair standards, hotel owners can compete in a landscape that has been largely reshaped in recent years by the pandemic and the short-term, app-based home rental options."

 

In response to the impasse between AAHOA and Marriott, Blake said that AAHOA had made overtures to Marriott. "AAHOA has always offered to freely discuss any pressing issues with our franchise partners, including Marriott, and will continue to do so."

 

Read more here and here.

 

Staff Members of two hotel industry associations donned blue in January to recognize National Human Trafficking Prevention month. AAHOA and the American Hotel & Lodging Association also sought to encourage hotel owners to take advantage of their educational programs on detecting and preventing trafficking in their properties...

 

The Tri-State Regional Conference & Trade Show will kick off the Regional Conference & Trade Shows of 2023 and will be held on Thursday, February 9, 2023, at the Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center Olive Branch - Memphis in Olive Branch, MS.
 
The first Regional event of the year will provide a unique place for three regions to come together to showcase the best of the industry and hear from political leaders who support America’s hotel owners. Arkansas Regional Director Danny (Chintu) Patel, Gulf Regional Director Vimal Patel, and Mid South Regional Director Harikrishna (HK) Patel have been working hard behind the scenes to make this event possible, and AAHOA is looking forward to bringing hoteliers together at the first Regional of 2023 for a full day of education, networking, and exploring what our amazing vendors have to offer.
 
Don’t delay! Register for this event today! You can also watch this video and see why AAHOA Members, vendor partners, industry leaders, and elected officials join AAHOA at one or more Regional events.

AAHOA closed out the year by releasing Point 6 of the 12 Points Webinar Series. It's hard to believe we are already halfway through, but there's much more content on the horizon!
 
Point 6 promotes full Franchisor disclosure and greater accountability concerning marketing expenditure, loyalty rewards program, and reservation fees collected from Franchisees. AAHOA President & CEO Laura Lee Blake sheds light on nine questions that can help Franchisees facilitate conversations with their Franchisors on various topics, including loyalty programs.

 

Remember to download the AAHOA 12 Points Educational Primer for extensive details on each of the 12 Points of Fair Franchising. We also invite you to review the webinars for Points 1-5 on the 12 Points Webinar Series Landing Page. Let's continue to promote fairness in the franchise industry in 2023.

Truist Securities reports, “Last week's results continue to show somewhat challenging results versus 2019, particularly on midweek full-service (a proxy for business travel, both transient and group). Group was quite soft vs. 2019 despite MLK Day in both the 2019 and 2023 comparisons. As noted below, Transient did not have as material of a w/w sequential change. We continue to stay attentive to weekly results. Upscale RevPAR: +30.5% y/y and +0.1% versus 2019; Upper Midscale RevPAR: +18.0% y/y and +7.4% versus 2019.”

For more, read the full report here.

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.

MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyowners. MassMutual offers a wide range of financial products and services, including life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, annuities, retirement plans and other employee benefits. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com, then contact Ana Lucia Divins (analuciadivins@massmutual.com) to get started.

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.

With the once-rock-steady business travel segment yet to fully bounce back, savvy hoteliers are making up for this lack of demand by catering to an often-overlooked element of the market. 

Along with the promise of greater efficiency that can streamline hotel operations, technology can simultaneously usher in earth-friendly practices.

Though the year is young, 2023's headlines have been dominated by talk of what ChatGPT, an AI language-processor, can do for countless industries, hospitality included.