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Your Weekly AAHOA Wrap-Up for Friday, Dec. 11, 2020

Message from the President & CEO

AAHOA Members,

This afternoon, Congress averted a government shutdown for at least another week, bringing the COVID-19 relief negotiations back to the forefront of Congress’s agenda. Despite months of dialogue, Republican and Democratic leaders are at an impasse on sweeping liability protections and state and local funding. Our industry cannot afford to let Congress fumble yet another round of negotiations.

I urge you to make your voice heard by contacting your elected members of Congress, President Trump, and the other Congressional leaders involved in the relief negotiations. It takes only one minute to join our grassroots campaign and tell our nation’s decision-makers to pass relief. Your voice and your actions can make a difference. Click here to get engaged.

We appreciate your engagement and support and will continue to keep you well informed of political developments and more in the coming weeks. Stay well and have a great weekend.

Cecil P. Staton

AAHOA President & CEO

Top 10 Things to Know This Week

STR: Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index Jumped 31.0% in November

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index was up 31.0% in November to a level of 4,354. Year to date through the first 11 months of 2020, the stock index was down 17.4%. “Election clarity and several positive vaccine updates caused a sharp reversal in investor expectations and led to significant outperformance for hotel stocks during November,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. “The positive vaccine updates allow investors to look to ‘the other side’ and reset their expectations for growth in 2022 and beyond. Worst-case scenarios, especially for the hotel REITs, are unlikely to unfold as previously feared, and more clarity exists regarding the timing of the broader travel recovery.” The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index in November outperformed both the S&P 500 (+10.8%) and the MSCI US REIT Index (+10.6%). The Hotel Brand sub-index increased 26.3% from October to 7,570, while the Hotel REIT sub-index jumped 47.7% to 1,068.

Trepp: Monthly Snapshot – Reviewing a Newsworthy Month for the CRE, CMBS, and CLO Markets

November was chock-full of events that kept us glued to our screens. And unlike past Novembers, it was for reasons purely due to the coronavirus pandemic raging throughout the world. First was the U.S. presidential election. Due to the pandemic, about half of the voters in the election (65 million) chose to vote by mail instead of at the polling booths. This overwhelmed election workers in many states and resulted in an extended timeline for vote counting and thus, a delayed calling of election results by the AP and other news outlets. The second was the vaccine news. U.S.-based Moderna, U.S.-based Pfizer, and Germany’s BioNTech released encouraging results from their respective vaccine trials. In fact, the companies already applied to the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization. Additionally, the United Kingdom granted an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

HotStats: Improving the Hotel Bottom Line Begins with Knowing How to Read a P&L

In running a hotel, getting to the bottom line means getting to what matters: profit. In order to arrive at that point, there are many inputs, both revenue and expense related, which mingle together to produce an outcome. The telling of that dance is recorded in the profit and loss statement (P&L), a signpost that records the story, of which the bottom line is the finale. How to read the story is the first step toward financial success. The P&L (also known as the income statement) is one of the three main financial statements of a business and a complement to the balance sheet and statement of cash flow. If you own or operate a hotel or are considering entering the hotel game, reading and understanding the nuances of a P&L are as necessary as making sure your hotel is clean and safe.

Chase: U.S. 2020 Holiday Spending – What to Expect So You Can Be Prepared

Is your business prepared to make the most of the holiday season during unprecedented times? Understanding the current landscape and expected customer behavior is key. To help you do just that, Club Blue Member Chase has compiled a handy infographic that illustrates the Average Expected Holiday Spend per Household and where exactly that money is going to go. Millennials (25-38 years old) plan to spend the most of any age group this holiday and 54% of them plan to travel. Of those, 66% plan to travel 250 miles or less and 43% plan to stay at a hotel or vacation rental. 

Want to Vote at AAHOACON21? Only 21 Days Left to Renew in 2020!

As 2020 comes to a close, we want to ensure you’re aware of this important upcoming deadline. In order to vote in the upcoming election at AAHOACON21 (May 4-7, 2021, Dallas, TX), you must:

• Become a Lifetime Member no later than the calendar year prior to Election Day (May 7, 2021) or have paid annual membership dues no less than twice in the previous three calendar years; and

• Be a paid member at the time of the election; include your spouse's full name on your membership application or he/she will not be eligible to vote in the elections.

•  

Renewing your 2020 membership also impacts your eligibility to vote in the 2022 AAHOA election, so don’t wait to become eligible. Do it today!

Mark Your Calendars for Our Upcoming Webcasts and Virtual Events!

• Webcast: Getting Back to Business: Labor – How Your Largest Operating Expense Can Produce Your Biggest Profits, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT, Dec. 15, 2020

• Virtual Event: Board Service Interest Meeting, 2-3 p.m. ET Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020

• Webcast: Getting Back to Business: I Want to Win the Ball Game: The Owner/GM as the Hotel’s Chief Information Officer, 3-3:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020

• Webcast: Getting Back to Business: CMBS Loans and COVID-19 Relief: Looking Forward to 2021, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT, Dec. 16, 2020

• Webcast: Getting Back to Business: Understanding the Intricacies of Hotel Valuation, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT, Jan. 21, 2021

AAHOA, Coalition Press Congress to Take Immediate Action and Pass COVID-19 Relief

AAHOA joined 25 other organizations in sending a letter to Congressional leaders imploring them to pass a new stimulus package to help the struggling travel and tourism industry. “We write to urge Congress to take immediate action to provide emergency relief to American small businesses,” the letter states. “As economic and public health conditions continue to worsen, business owners are reporting declining revenues and an increasing need for support in order to survive the coming months. Small businesses urgently need Congress to enact stop-gap relief as a bridge to a longer-term program that can help them transition from crisis to recovery.”

Next Week: Board of Directors Service Interest Meeting Set for December 15

AAHOA's 2021-2023 Strategic Plan launches in January and the Board of Directors will play an important role in helping AAHOA achieve its stated goals. To learn more about the strategic plan and what service on a national nonprofit board requires, please join AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton for a Board Service Interest Meeting. We are looking for motivated members who are ready and willing to help AAHOA achieve its goals, thereby helping hotel owners all across the nation. Answer the call and volunteer to serve. The nomination period runs December 16 through March 8, and open positions and eligibility requirements are available here. 

2-3 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020

Zoom meeting:  +1 646 5588656

ID: 974 0439 3085

Passcode: 066333

Today’s Advocacy Update: Bipartisan Group of Senators Propose $908B Package

The latest update reveals that a potential stimulus bill by a bipartisan group of senators could amount to $908 billion. Many areas are largely based on the SBA funding programs including PPP, EIDL, 7(a), and 504. AAHOA does not yet have figures related to the programs or how the availability would work, but we know these issues are top of mind for many members. 

We continue to press forward on our banking priorities, tax relief, and liquidity priorities. AAHOA is optimistic there will be additional progress in the coming days, but there is still a long way to go.

Potential benefits to hoteliers in bipartisan Senate proposal:

• PPP 2.0

  • Qualifications based on 30% or more loss of revenue and 300 or fewer employees

  • Forgivable uses expanded to include supplier costs, investments in facility modifications, and PPE

  • Business expenses would now be tax deductible

  • Simplified forgiveness for loans of $150,000 or less

• Funding subsidies for SBA 7(a) loans

• Funding to increase guarantees on SBA 7(a) loans 

• Funding to reduce fees on SBA 7(a) and 504 loans

• Funding to provide advances on EIDL\

• Liability protections

• TDR classification relief/forbearance on bank loans

Now is the time to keep the pressure on. One Congressman told AAHOA this week that the top thing we can do as an organization is to drive constituent letters to urge Congress to support a stimulus bill now, so click here to find AAHOA’s latest action alert: “15,000 Letters. One Purpose. One More Time.” We’re more than halfway to our goal, so don’t let up.

Deadline Looming to Comply with New FL Law! Sign Up for HTAT Today! 

Time is running out to comply with Florida’s new human trafficking law! Hotel owners and operators have only until Dec. 31, 2020, to comply with the new law, which mandates that all employees be certified in human trafficking awareness. To help members meet this deadline, AAHOA is hosting an in-person awareness training series on December 14-18 that will include 10 locations in five days and will feature Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) Inhospitable to Human Trafficking Training Sponsored by AAHOA. The Florida Division of Hotels & Restaurants recently certified that the BEST training meets the requirements set forth in section 509.096 of the Florida State Statute. The new law mandates that hotel owners and operators provide training for employees within 60 days after they begin employment in a housekeeping or reception area role or by Jan. 1, 2021, whichever occurs later. Businesses that do not comply face a fine of up to $2,000 a day. If you are unable to attend the in-person training, you can take our on-demand online training at any time. Register now to help save lives and protect your business.

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Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Inc.

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Atlanta, GA 30328

404.816.5759

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Washington DC 20001

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