WASHINGTON—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) announced it has welcomed several new members and partner organizations, continuing to grow the association’s reach at a critical time for the hotel industry. New members include Arbor Lodging, Golder Hospitality, KMG Hotels, and Noble House Hotels & Resorts.
The new members and partners AHLA announced join a membership roster that surpasses 30,000 members this year and includes 80 percent of all franchised hotels and the 10 largest hotel companies in the United States. In addition to hoteliers, AHLA membership includes partner state associations, industry vendors and suppliers, hospitality students, and those who teach and mentor them.
Joining Silver Partners are JLL, a leader in real estate services; LAZ Parking, a parking company; and O’Connor & Associates, a property tax consulting firm in the United States. Silver Partners are part of AHLA’s tiered Premier Partner Program.
“The support of these partners is critical to our collective success, and we are excited to welcome new members and partner organizations to the AHLA family,” said AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers. “As the singular voice representing the lodging industry, our work is more important than ever, and we could not do it without our members and industry partners. They help ensure AHLA is effectively representing hotels and their employees with one unified voice, both in Washington and in state capitols and city halls across the country.”
New AHLA members include:
- KMG Hotels is an owner in the Midwest, which owns and operates eleven national hotels representing various franchises, including Marriott, Hilton, Starwood, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Choice Hotels International.
- Arbor Lodging Partners is a national debt and equity investor in the hospitality industry based in Chicago that has built a track record of identifying and capitalizing on lodging investment opportunities that create value.
- Golder Hospitality is a full-service hotel management, development, and consulting group fluent in each area of hotel operations, with a focus on providing the right tools and supplies, training, and communication for their team members.
- Noble House Hotels & Resorts provides hospitality experiences defined by location, distinction, and soul. Each property is designed to stand on its own merits. The unifying thread that connects each hotel is not the architecture or the amenities, but the people and the local culture that make up Noble House Hotels & Resorts.
The AHLA Premier Partner Program offers industry suppliers and service providers opportunities to engage directly with AHLA members at an executive level and increase brand visibility. The Premier Partner Program New Premier Partners include:
- JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group (led by CEO Gilda Perez-Alvarado) has completed more transactions than any other hotels and hospitality real estate advisor over the last five years, totaling $83 billion worldwide. The group’s global team in more than 20 countries also closed more than 7,350 advisory, valuation, and asset management assignments. Their hotel valuation, brokerage, asset management, and consultancy services have helped hotel investors, owners, and operators achieve returns on their assets.
- LAZ Parking was founded in 1981 by three childhood friends. Fueled by a creative and entrepreneurial spirit, LAZ has become a fast-growing privately owned parking operator—but their biggest success has been developing and upholding a culture that prioritizes people over profits. LAZ maintains a dedicated hospitality services leadership team that focuses on hotel operations, including valet, bell, door, and banquet services. LAZ’s diversity in people and service offerings allows them to craft solutions within the hotel space, supported by LAZ’s operations within multiple industries, including hospitality, office buildings, and stadiums.
- O’Connor & Associates is the largest property tax consulting firm (based on 200,000 plus property appeals each year) in the United States. Hotel valuation is individual; the intangible value of a hotel’s flag is exempt from ad valorem taxation in all 50 states but calculating intangible value is a challenging task for tax assessors and tax consultants. By partnering with hotel franchisors and collecting data from major publications, O’Connor created the O’Connor Approach to calculate the net value derived from a hotel’s flag and achieve property tax savings for hotels nationwide. O’Connor coordinates with reputable tax attorneys in every state to pursue property tax reductions aggressively.
