In the face of a regulatory blizzard, hotel owners, general managers, and CEOs gathered in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss key lodging industry issues with members of Congress, including deceptive online booking sites, franchise protection, and the definition of a full-time employee definition.
In order to have a more unified voice on Capitol Hill, the American Hotel & Lodging Association joined forces for the first time with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association and the National Restaurant Association for its 2015 Legislative Action Summit. Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of AH&LA; Pratik Patel, 2014 chairman of AAHOA and principal at REM Hospitality; Jonathan M. Tisch, chairman of Loews Hotels & Resorts, and other speakers all reiterated how vital travel and tourism is to the U.S. economy.
To back up this claim, attendees armed themselves with the facts: Travel and tourism is among the nation’s largest service export industries and one of America’s largest employers. It ranks as one of the top 10 largest industries in 49 states, plus the District of Columbia. The hotel industry alone employs more than 1.8 million Americans and generates nearly $1 trillion in travel revenue, creates $163 billion in lodging sales revenue, and raises $134 billion in business travel tax revenue annually.
Speakers stressed the importance of sharing personal stories with members of Congress and how policy affects their day-to-day business. “In so many cases, we have let other people define who we are as an industry, and that’s never in our best interest,” Lugar said. “The role we’ve played in the economy for four straight years of job growth, the role all of you play in your communities, helping out especially in times of need or times of tragedy or disaster. The American Dream that so many in this room represent. The opportunities you provide individuals who start off at an entry level and work their way to the top. That’s the story that needs to be told on The Hill.”
AAHOA’s Patel said “attacks” on the lodging industry, such as the minimum wage in Los Angeles that targets only hotels or the National Labor Relations Board ruling that challenges the current franchise model, are disturbing. But coalitions and team building strategies among brands, owners, real estate investment trusts, franchisees, management companies, independent properties, state hotel associations, and suppliers allow AH&LA and AAHOA to address policy issues with a stronger, more unified voice.
“We look forward to the next five years and getting to a place where we’re not always back on our heels but we’re on our toes, asking for what’s right for hospitality,” Patel said. “It’s about time we’re telling our story as one.”
The last few years have been a transformative time for the travel and hospitality industry, as a key driver of growth and job creation, Tisch said during a keynote speech. “Spending on travel and tourism has outpaced GDP growth. And since the recession, we have created jobs 33 percent faster than the rest of the economy. In fact, the travel industry has gained back all the jobs it lost in recession and then some.”
Changing lawmakers’ perception of the travel industry will help drive better policy decisions, he added. “The sooner Washington embraces a new vision of the value of service sector jobs,” Tisch said, “the faster we’ll see policies aimed at growing our industry, and the quicker we will get even more Americans back to work.”
