LONG BEACH, CA—Jimmy Patel has taken the helm of AAHOA as chairman for the coming year. A second-generation hotelier, Patel is president of Jai Amba Maa (JAM) Hospitality. The new chairman gave his thoughts on AAHOA, its future and the industry. —Nicole Carlino
How would you describe your leadership style? The old saying goes, “There is no ‘I’ in team,” and I am a firm believer in this principle. AAHOA is not an association that is led by an individual; it is a network of business owners who work together to help our association—and our industry—progress. It is all about teamwork. If we do not work together as a united force, we will never beat the obstacles that come our way.
Looking at the coming year, what are your major goals and objectives for AAHOA? We will continue to grow our advocacy efforts. As the voice for all hotel owners, our presence in Washington, DC, is becoming more powerful each year. However, we are focused more than ever in expanding our presence at state capitols and city halls. This year, we have taken an active role in more than 20 state-based Capitol Hill events. We hope to make it 30 or more over the next year. AAHOA will also increase our advocacy for owners in our relationship with brands. We currently have the strongest relationship we’ve ever had with most major brands. We will continue to build on these relationships so that owners are always on a level playing field when working with our brand partners. Finally, we will strengthen our member benefits offerings. With more than 14,000 members owning close to one of every two hotels in the U.S., our ability to negotiate on behalf of the industry can make a major difference in the bottom line of our members.
What is AAHOA’s strategy when it comes to government and regulatory issues, and what do you see as the biggest challenges the industry will face in the coming year? Our strategy is simple—protect our members’ investments. The fact is that, as a group, we own more than 45% of all hotels in this country. What we have seen from lawmakers in places like Los Angeles and Georgia is that many have no understanding or, perhaps even worse, no regard for the hospitality industry. In Los Angeles, we are fighting an ordinance that singles out only certain types of hotels and grants enforcement authority to organized labor. Just as bad is a new tax policy in Georgia that creates a major tax increase on hotels. This new law was passed in the middle of the night with no input from anyone in the industry. It is lawmaking at its worst.
Aside from potential legislation, what are your top areas of concern for the industry? For the past decade, the economy has been the major issue for hoteliers and most business owners. Now, as the economy is slowly improving and the hospitality industry is rebounding, we are focusing on regulatory and government issues that pose just as much of a threat to our industry. Earlier, I mentioned the extreme wage increase in Los Angeles. This is happening in cities across the country, and it’s a real threat to our industry. To put it bluntly, most hoteliers cannot afford to keep the staff they currently employ at a minimum of $15 an hour (to use the L.A. minimum wage as an example). We are vigorously fighting this issue because the result would be less profit for our industry and fewer jobs overall. Other major issues include arbitrary decisions by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which threaten the franchise model. AAHOA is part of a network of business organizations that are combating this issue. Many of our members are franchise owners, and the NLRB has repeatedly struck at the heart of the franchisor-franchisee relationship, which is so vital to us and all business owners.
What opportunities do you see ahead for the hotel industry and AAHOA’s members? Our members are better educated and better financed than ever before, and their understanding of developing successful hotels is more complete. Many brands report that AAHOA members constitute 60% to 70% of the projects in their pipelines. We stand ready to assist our members in making their investments a success. HB