California Lodging Industry Legislative Action Summit
Save the date for the 11th California Lodging Industry Legislative Action Summit -
April 25, 2012
Sheraton Grand, Sacramento CA Registration opening soon!
10th Annual California Lodging Industry Legislative Action Summit - April 27, 2011
On April 27, 2011, the California Hotel & Lodging Association, in conjunction with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and the California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns (CABBI), hosted its 10th Annual Legislative Action Summit (LAS). With "Leave Your Mark" as this year's event slogan, hoteliers and industry leaders did just that. Participants went on over 50 appointments with legislators and legislative staff. We were fortunate to have a number of participants from the corporate offices from as far away as Atlanta and Chicago, illustrating what an important event this is to attend.
The event, held at the Sheraton Grand, Sacramento, was kicked off by CH&LA Board Chair, Pam Richardson who welcomed the lodging industry to the Capitol. Richardson also recognized the founder of the CH&LA Legislature Action Summit, Member Legal Advisor and former CH&LA CEO Jim Abrams for all the work he has done, and continues to do, on behalf of the lodging industry. Although Gov. Jerry Brown's advance staff was on hand all morning, we were disappointed that due to other commitments, he was unable to address us. However, many of us had a chance to meet the Governor at a reception held jointly with the California Travel & Tourism Commission the night before on the Capitol lawn.
We received a very detailed update on what is happening at the federal level from Marlene Colucci, Executive Vice President, Public Policy for AH&LA. Ms. Colucci discussed important developments in the battle with online travel companies and their attempt to get tax preferences; the 'card check' movement from Congress to the National Labor Relations Board and the progress of the Travel Promotion Act after its passage last year. Following Ms. Colucci's presentation, we had a panel moderated by Capitol Weekly Journalist Greg Lucas that focused on the online travel companies and transient occupancy tax debate. Panelists included Sr. Director of Taxes for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Mitchell Bryk; President of Pacific Hospitality and Past Chair of AAHOA, Tarun Patel; Marlene Colucci, AH&LA; and Patrick Whitnell, General Counsel for the California League of Cities. Although several invitations went out to the OTCs and the Interactive Travel Services Association (ITSA), they chose not to participate. Mr. Lucas did a great job moderating the conversation and playing 'devil's advocate' so that the OTCs positions on these issues could be discussed even with their noticeable absence.
This year, CH&LA's Government & Legal Relations Committee focused all of the advocacy efforts in opposition of Senate Bill 432 (de Leon) which would require all hotels and lodging facilities to use fitted sheets and provide long handled tools to all housekeepers. While the bill's author is well intentioned, the legislation is ill-conceived and we made sure that we made our mark on this issue. In addition to the membership faxing and calling their legislators and members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, these in-person meetings have had a serious impact on the momentum of the bill.
This galvanizing issue which is a direct attack on our industry and dangerous to our fragile economic recovery served to make this one of the most effective advocacy days in CH&LA history. If you weren't there, you really missed something. The good news is you can join us in 2012!
9th Annual California Lodging Industry Legislative Awareness Summit - April 13, 2010
CH&LA hosted its Ninth Annual California Lodging Industry Legislative Awareness Summit on April 13, 2010 in Sacramento.
René Boskoff, General Manger, Monterey Marriott Hotel and CH&LA Chair welcomed everyone to event.
Fresh in from Washington DC, Marlene Colucci, EVP for Public Policy, American Hotel & Lodging Association presented a Federal Update.
Caroline Beteta, President & CEO, California Travel & Tourism Commission and National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association review the CCTC's
priorities and marketing plan.
Pam Richardson, Barmaper & Associates and Vice Chair, Caroline Beteta, California Travel & Tourism Commission, René Boskoff, General Manager,
Monterey Marriott Hotel and Chair, Lynn Mohrfeld, CH&LA and Marlene Colucci, American Hotel & Lodging Association take time out for a quick photo.
Amber Baker and Adam Edelman, both SDSU Students, Jason Tharp of Holiday Inn Express and Robin Soehl of HD Supply all of District 39 of San Diego
sat together at the Summit.
The Chancellor Hotel on Union Square never misses a Summit; pictured is Tony Llano, Richard Moorehouse and Wes Tyler.
Industry leaders take time out for a photo; Former President of CLIA; Rick Lawrence, Pam Richardson, Barmaper & Associates and Vice Chair,
Tarun Patel, AAHOA, Lynn Mohrfeld, CH&LA, Caroline Beteta, California Travel & Tourism Commission, René Boskoff, General Manager, Monterey
Marriott Hotel and Chair, and Marlene Colucci, American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Lynn Mohrfeld, CH&LA President & CEO introduces the Review of the Lodging Issues Panel.
The panel included René Boskoff, General Manager, Monterey Marriott Hotel and Chair, CH&LA, Pam Richardson, Principal, Barmaper & Associates and
Vice Chair, CH&LA, and Bhupen Amin, Chief Operating Officer, Lotus Hotels, Inc. and Past Chair, CH&LA.
Tarun Patel, Chair of AAHOA, CH&LA's partner in the event thanks everyone for attending and emphasized the importance of being involved.
Oscar Rodriguez, General Manager of the San Francisco Marriott Union Square and Lynn Mohrfeld catch up on the issues.
Bhupen Amin, Lotus Hotels & Investments, Pramod Patel, RAPS Hospitality and Carrie Nocella, The Disneyland Resort make acquaintances.
Lynn Mohrfeld, President & CEO, CH&LA, Mukesh Mowji, Former AAHOA Chair and Rick Lawrence, former CLIA President discuss how disappointed
they are that the industry merger fell apart last year.
The Sheraton Grande served a delicious Italian Buffet for the Summit attendees.
Byron Chapman, Kim Davis, Karina Garcia and Tanya Sims of RIM Hospitality sat down for lunch before heading off to their appointments at the Capitol.
Lawrence Walters, Sheraton Grande Sacramento Hotel, Pat Seminario, Marriott Ventura Beach Hotel and Kelly Vytlacil of Marriott chat at the lunch break
CH&LA's new Owner Operator's Council attended the Summit; shown from left to right; Vijay D. Patel, SF Hotels, Bobby Newman, Best Western Oakland Airport,
Ramen Patel, Central Valley Hotels, Bhupen Amin, Lotus Hotels & Investments, Pramod Patel, RAPS Hospitality, Kiran R. Patel, Pacific west Hotels and Naz
Patel, Econo Lodge & Guesthouse Inn Southgate.
It is always a pleasure to have the Marriott General Managers from all over the state attend CH&LA's Annual Summit Steven Hall LAX Airport Marriott, Oscar
Rodriguez, Marriott SF Union Square, Clifton Clark, Marriott San Jose Downtown, Lucas Fiamengo, Courtyard by Marriott, Nusrat Mirza, Long Beach Renaissance
Hotel and Pam Ryan, Torrance Marriott.
CH&LA Staff, Lynn Mohrfeld, Michelle Donohue, Sue Norton, Jennifer Flohr and Ellen Anderson pose with CH&LA Chair René Boskoff.
On April 13th, 2010, CH&LA in conjunction with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association
(AAHOA) and the California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns (CABBI), hosted the Ninth Annual
California Lodging Industry Action Summit at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento. The 2010 Legislative
Summit was a truly successful event with over 175 attendees.
The day of the summit was ushered in with a welcome from CH&LA's 2010 Chairman, Rene Boskoff, General Manager of the Monterey Marriott Hotel, followed by a national update by Marlene Colucci, Executive Vice President for Public Policy of AH&LA. Caroline Beteta, President & CEO, California Travel & Tourism Commission, Chair of the U.S. Travel Association and recent apointee to the newly formed Corporation for Travel Promotion, gave a California tourism update. Both presentations were well received and informative of today's political positioning for the lodging industry.
Most importantly, Summit attendees went on over 60 scheduled appointments to meet with their individual legislators, and/or their staff members, to convey the lodging industry's most pressing issues and reinforce the importance of the California lodging industry to our state's economic recovery and growth.
