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Your Weekly AAHOA Wrap-Up for Friday, Dec. 18, 2020

Message from the President & CEO

AAHOA Members,

Negotiations over the COVID-19 relief package could spill over into the weekend as Congress must pass an omnibus funding bill, or at the very least another stopgap measure, to avert a government shutdown at 12 midnight. Congressional leaders have signaled that they will remain in session until a relief package is passed.

While there are many shortcomings in the relief bills we are seeing, AAHOA is optimistic that Congress will pass some shred of relief to help our nation and our economy through the early weeks of the new year. We are continuing to push for the inclusion of bank forbearance language in the pending and future COVID-19 relief packages. Our industry is the backbone of America’s travel and tourism economy, and ignoring the industry’s liquidity crisis would have a devastating effect on our economic recovery. It is not too late to contact your members of Congress and urge them to pass COVID-19 relief now.

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.

Happy holidays,

Cecil P. Staton

AAHOA President & CEO

Top 10 Things to Know This Week

At Least 34 Million Fewer Americans to Travel This Holiday Season

AAA Travel expects the vast majority of Americans to stay home this holiday season. Public health concerns and travel guidance are influencing their decisions not to travel over the year-end holidays, a period that typically sees high demand for vacations. While AAA expects at least 34 million fewer travelers compared to last year’s holiday season, as many as 84.5 million Americans may still travel from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3, a decline in travel of at least 29%. The CDC urges Americans not to travel for the holidays this year, warning that travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. For those who make the personal decision to travel, it is important to understand the risks involved and take steps to keep yourself and others safe.

Read Full Report

Only 13 Days Left! Get Trained to Comply with FL’s New Human Trafficking Law TODAY!

Hotel owners and operators have only until Dec. 31, 2020, to comply with a new Florida law requiring all employees to be certified in human trafficking awareness. To help our members meet this fast approaching deadline, AAHOA hosted an in-person awareness training series that included 10 locations in five days, wrapping up today in Daytona and Orlando. The series featured our Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) Inhospitable to Human Trafficking Training Sponsored by AAHOA, which the Florida Division of Hotels & Restaurants certified meets the requirements set forth in section 509.096 of the Florida State Statute. The new law mandates that all employees be certified 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 were unable to attend the in-person training, you can take our on-demand online training at any time. We encourage ALL of our members, in Florida and across the nation, to sign up now to help save lives and protect your business.

Take the Training

myDigitalOffice: U.S. Hotel Performance for Christmas and New Year

New data from myDigitalOffice shows travel for the upcoming winter months and holidays continues to be adversely affected by the ongoing spread of COVID-19. As we look ahead to Christmas and New Year’s, patterns remain unimpressive and consistent with what we saw over Thanksgiving. However, it is apparent some travelers are hitting the road with hand sanitizer in tow and remaining true to their holiday travel plans. Looking at the months of December and January, as of 12/15, December’s occupancy is sitting at 25% – a 10% climb over the last three weeks, while January’s occupancy is still hovering south of 10%. Total business on the books through the end of December is pacing similarly to what we saw in November.

Read Full Article

CDC: When Vaccine Is Limited, Who Gets Vaccinated First?

Because the supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States is expected to be limited at first, the CDC recommends that initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccine be allocated to healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents. The CDC made this recommendation on December 3, 2020, and based it on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent panel of medical and public health experts. The recommendations were made with these goals in mind:

Decrease death and serious disease as much as possible.
Preserve functioning of society.
Reduce the extra burden COVID-19 is having on people already facing disparities.

In other news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) endorsed the emergency use of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, which follows the recent approval of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine last Friday. Once FDA approval is granted, the U.S. is preparing to ship almost millions of doses to thousands of locations as early as next week. This is good news for the travel and tourism industry as we close out 2020 and look ahead to the new year.

Learn More

STR: U.S. Weekly Hotel Occupancy Remains Relatively Flat

U.S. weekly hotel occupancy remained relatively flat from the previous week, according to the latest data from STR through December 12. December 6-12, 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019):

Occupancy: 37.8% (-37.4%)
Average daily rate (ADR): US$85.88 (-31.7%)
Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$32.49 (-57.3%)

Aggregate data for the Top 25 Markets showed lower occupancy (35.6%) but higher ADR (US$90.81) than all other markets. Among the Top 25 Markets, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida (47.6%) saw the highest occupancy level.

Read Full Report

President & CEO Cecil P. Staton Submits AAHOA’s Comments in Response to the FTC’s Public Workshop of Nov. 10, 2020

On Wednesday, AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton responded to the Federal Trade Commission’s request for public comment on its Franchise Rule: “On behalf of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Inc. (“AAHOA”) and its members, we welcome the opportunity to present these comments in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) public workshop of November 10, 2020 relating to its Request for Public Comment on the Franchise Rule on March 13, 2019.

AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the country. Our nearly 20,000 members own half of the hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA Members are core economic contributors to virtually every American community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American Dream. To our members, franchising is not simply one of many business models available to them as entrepreneurs, it’s a way of life."

Read Full Letter

Only 13 Days Left to Renew in 2020 If You Want to Vote at AAHOACON21!

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:

Be a paid member at the time of the election; AND
Become a Lifetime Member no later than the calendar year prior to Election Day, OR paid Annual Member dues no less than twice in the previous three calendar years; OR
Be an eligible spouse whose name was included on the membership application; AND
Present proper photo identification (e.g., driver’s license).

To learn more about voting eligibility, download our new 2021 Voter Eligibility Rules infographic. Note that renewing your 2020 membership also impacts your eligibility to vote in the 2022 AAHOA election. 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!

Learn More

Every State Has Its Own COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan. Find the One for Yours Here.

The first shots were given in the American mass vaccination campaign this morning, opening a new chapter in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more people in the United States than in any other country. A majority of the first injections given today are expected to go to high-risk healthcare workers. Each state was required to file a COVID-19 vaccination plan with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Find the plan for your state here.

See Full Infographic

ICYMI: AAHOA Board Service Interest Meeting

AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton led a Board Service Interest Meeting on Tuesday looking for motivated members who want to help AAHOA achieve the goals laid out in its 2021-2023 Strategic Plan, which will launch in January. If you missed the meeting, you can still view the on-demand video. The nomination period runs through March 8, and open positions and eligibility requirements are available here. Help lead AAHOA into the future by volunteering to serve.

Watch the Video

AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton Issues Statement on Stopgap Funding Bill

ATLANTA, Ga., Dec. 11 – AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton issued a statement last Friday in response to the Senate passage of a one-week stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown: “While Washington waits until the last minute to get its house in order with a stopgap measure good for just one week, the American people and American enterprise continue to suffer. From battling the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic calamity to mending the political divisions of the recent elections, our nation faces numerous challenges. The fact that our elected leaders came within a hair's breadth of allowing a government shutdown during these most difficult of times is yet another sad reminder of how political gridlock is prolonging the misery of this pandemic.”

America’s hotel owners are hurting. Now is the time to keep the pressure on Congress to approve a new stimulus package before the end of the year. We’ve already sent more than 10,300 letters in our latest advocacy campaign, 15,000 Letters. One Purpose. One More Time, and we’re close to reaching our goal. Send a letter to your representatives TODAY demanding relief for struggling hoteliers.

Read Full Statement

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