AH&LA Surpasses Goal For Membership Promotion

WASHINGTON, D.C.— In a conference call this morning, John Russell, AH&LA chairman, said the association signed on 188,570 new rooms during its “One for One for One” membership campaign, surpassing its goal of 150,000 rooms. The 90-day membership drive, which kicked off on Memorial Day, and ended on Labor Day, added a total of 2,153 properties and 226 new allied members to the association’s membership roster. During the membership drive, properties were allowed to join participating AH&LA member state associations at a steep discount— for $1 per one room for one year. Regular rates for members range from $7-$10 per room for one year. Russell said that for the next 30 days, AH&LA will honor applications that were generated during the promotional period, which will boost the number of new members through the program even higher. He said he expects the association will have 200,000 rooms and 2,500 properties by the time all applications from the program are completed. The association’s new challenge will be to retain as many of the new members as possible. Russell said that he expects to maintain a minimum of 50% of the new members signed on during the promotion, but will work to retain as much as 85% of them “by engaging the properties and showing them the value of their membership.” Russell noted after the last membership promotion the association ran in 1998, the retention rate was 66%. A breakdown of the data from the membership drive indicated that California State signed on the most rooms, with 14,841, followed by Pennsylvania with 14,580 rooms, and Florida with 14,397 rooms. Interestingly, it was not the same state that signed on the most properties. Oregon topped that list with 368 new properties signed on as new AH&LA members, followed by California with 199 properties, and North Carolina with 127 properties. Russell is optimistic about the affects of the membership campaign, noting the increased membership will also aid the Educational Institute and American Hotel Foundation. “And there’s still opportunity to grow a 10% to 15% for the next four to five years,” said Russell. According to statistics, AH&LA has reached a 24% penetration rate by properties, with 13,000 of the 53,000 U.S. lodging properties inked as members of the association. With increased membership, AH&LA may not need to raise dues as much over the coming years— a side benefit if properties signed during the promotion are retained, said Russell.