Marlene's View from the Hill

May 18, 2009
Not A Spare Moment

May is rapidly coming to a close, bringing me closer to my wedding day on May 30.  On Friday of the previous week, my office threw me a lovely surprise pre-wedding celebration.  I was really surprised—and so was my office when 30 minutes later the participants in our weekly card check meeting began to arrive! 

This morning I attended the AH&LA's Women in Lodging (WIL) Connect Hospitality Career Day, benefitting clients of our nonprofit partner Dress for Success.  This organization is dedicated to helping disadvantaged women get back on their feet and into the workplace, and the purpose of this event was for WIL members to introduce them to the diverse career opportunities in the lodging industry.  Along the same vein, the personal highlight of last week was my opportunity to address the Women’s Business Alliance of Choice Hotels at the beautiful Gaylord National Resort in Maryland on Monday at Choice's annual convention.  Finding the Gaylord is no easy task, so thankfully my friend Linda Tovar was on hand to navigate me by phone to insure that I arrived on time. 

Before my talk, Choice International’s President and CEO Steve Joyce and their senior vice president and general counsel Sandy Michel presented the scholarships to five impressive college students who have a strong interest in the hospitality industry, and three “Women of the Year” award finalists.  It was exciting to honor their personal and professional achievements.  I could already see signs of promise for these women as I heard their stories. 

I addressed a room of about 200 female hoteliers about my personal and professional experiences and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.  While it was difficult to talk about such a personal topic, it was extremely gratifying to have so many women approach me and to tell me how they were inspired and relay the similar experiences they have had in their careers.  From Yinching Lin-Chen, a bright young MBA who took over as the general manager of her family’s Comfort Inn in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia to Sunny Bhakta, the general manager of the Comfort Inn in Lakeville, Minnesota, who was motivated to run for city council after her experience trying to get a zoning variance in order to post a sign for her hotel, it was plainly apparent to me that these women were an impressive group. 

Last week was a whirlwind of activity on the legislative front as well.  Last Tuesday, as part of the public program to roll out the new Travel Promotion Act on the Hill, AH&LA staff participated in the first-ever “U.S. Travel Rally Day,” held in Washington’s Chinatown and simultaneously in about 40 other American cities.  There was local coverage by Washington media and speakers from the U.S. Commerce Department and DestinationDC, the local travel promotion office.  We were there to remind the American public that our industry provides more jobs than the auto industry, and we are in every community across the nation.

Wednesday morning AH&LA participated in the Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing “Tourism in Troubled Times.”  The idea for the hearing came from a meeting held with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) during our March Legislative Action Summit.  Senator Klobuchar chairs the subcommittee that handles tourism issues, and agreed with our LAS attendees that it would be an excellent idea to hold a hearing to highlight to Congress today’s travel issues and business challenges. 

Three AHLA members, Jay Witzel, president and CEO of Carlson Hotels; Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts; and Judy Z. Keller, owner of the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, Michigan, took the time to participate in the hearing.  Each had a particular analysis of the economic impact that negative comments about travel and meetings have had on our industry.  You can view the entire hearing, as well as read the testimony of all eight witnesses, via this link. 

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind.  While last weekend was spent attacking my wedding checklist, I think I might try to convince my fiancé to do some pre-wedding dance lessons….wish me luck! 

May 7, 2009
A Little Knowledge Keeps You Well 

News of the swine H1N1 flu has kept us extremely busy these past two weeks.  Fortunately, this bug has not been found yet in any U.S. hotel property.  There are no travel restrictions in place, and the Centers for Disease Control and the United Nation’s World Health Organization both said the outbreak should not discourage anyone from traveling.  That’s good news for our guests and our industry members.

The American travel industry also reminded our leaders that we are looking towards them to shoulder the burden of leadership responsibility and to educate themselves about influenza and its effects on the economy.  Comments like the ones made by Vice President Biden about not taking trips during this time are not helpful, given our industry’s current economic situation.  Words can and do have repercussions on many hotel bottom lines.

Since the crisis began last week, AH&LA has been part of daily phone briefings conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Department of Homeland Security.  AH&LA staff also attended two emergency briefings held at the Commerce Department and the White House.

The White House meeting last Friday was especially interesting.  Sixteen top business representatives, including AH&LA’s President Joe McInerney, were invited to brief top aides to President Obama about what business needed from government to prevent and stop this disease.  It was also an opportunity for us to personally ask our national leaders what we needed from them. 

The hour-long meeting was held in the ornate Eisenhower Executive Office Building around a room-sized round table that led to a very open exchange of ideas between participants.  Government would like us to ask our members companies to encourage people to take sick leave if they are feeling ill and stay out of the workplace even if it means loss of productivity, and business asked for a precise checklist of symptoms that we can distribute to our workforce.  Valerie Jarrett, White House senior advisor, left the meeting fifteen minutes early to personally brief the President about what was talked about in the meeting, demonstrating vividly to me that communication between businesses and government is extremely open during this crisis. 

AH&LA has set up a Webpage (www.ahla.com/flu) that is updated daily with news about the outbreak and how it affects travel and our workplaces.  It’s populated with a lot of information about what to do; what precautions you can undertake to protect your employees, your guests and your lodging business; and a wealth of Web links to business information resources.  While it may be very difficult to prevent the spread of a virus, the more you know about what to do during a pandemic flu may be the key to riding out this storm in relative safety.  I urge everyone to find out as much as they can about this serious threat to our nation’s health.

On the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) front, numerous Washington insiders are trying to figure out the impact that Senator Arlen Specter’s party switch last week will have on the outcome of issues like EFCA.  He specifically mentioned EFCA in his online announcement about becoming a Democrat, and he said that he still could not support it in its current form.  While this may be a temporary victory, it does not mean he will be a reliable vote against compromise on EFCA.  So we are keeping a close eye on this situation.

As for me, I took a brief trip last weekend to Santa Monica, California, to finish my final wedding preparations.  While it was raining in Washington, D.C., it was sunny in my home state and despite an exhausting “to do” list, I am starting to get really excited about the big day!