Oklahoma's Hotel and Restaurant Members Gather with Congress in Washington, D.C.

On April 15, 2015 twenty Oklahoma Hotel & Lodging Association members and Oklahoma Restaurant Association members, accompanied by two determined students from OSU's AH&LA/OH&LA Student Chapter, traveled to Washington, D.C. to the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Legislative Action Summit. This Summit was our annual opportunity to meet face-to-face with Oklahoma's federal legislators and their staffs to discuss issues critical to the lodging and restaurant industry.

Thank you to OH&LA and ORA members Jon Davidson, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Michelle Hartman, SJS Hospitality; John Kelly, Best Western; Steve Kohl, Northwest Inn; Ronnie Krodel and Ryan Parker, Riverwind Hotel; Blane Thompson, The Colcord; David Egan, Cattlemen’s Steakhouse; Hal Walker, McGill’s; Dennis and Melissa Patrick, Clanton’s Café; Kim McLendon, Emerging Brands; Kelley McLendon, Kelley Brokerage; Ed Lynn, Buffalo Wild Wings; David and Lana Burns, Outback Steakhouse; and Dar Yasseri, Maci Slater, and Bayli Jones of OSU HRAD for dedicating their time and effort to accompany state association executives Jim Hopper and Patti Colley to our U.S. Capitol for such an important effort.

Oklahoma’s delegation members were among the 400 representatives from NRA, AH&LA, and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association who converged on the Hill for both groups' annual legislative conferences. The AH&LA Summit included a power-packed line-up from key leaders in Congress including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and also included hotelier Jonathan M. Tisch, one of the most well-respected leaders in our industry and Chairman of Loews, who called for the government to be a partner to the travel industry given travel’s powerful role in driving America’s economy, stating "it’s fair for us to ask government to be our partner in growth." Other speakers included Katherine Lugar, president and CEO, AH&LA; Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO, NRA; and Prat Patel, Chairman, AAHOA.

Combined with the National Restaurant Association, nearly 1,000 individuals advocated on behalf of the hospitality industry to members in the House of Representatives and the Senate. An important theme for this year's summit was urging attendees to "Tell Your Story" - the story of your experience, your business, and how government directly impacts you. As usual, our legislators were eager to hear from Oklahoma hospitality businesses.

HOTEL INDUSTRY RAISES KEY ISSUES AT LEGISLATIVE ACTION SUMMIT
During the Summit, attendees asked federal lawmakers to take action on a few key items, which were well received over the course of nearly 200 legislative meetings. The following weeks and months will be busy with follow-ups to turn these asks into action.

• Restoring the 40-hour work week: The new definition of the work week in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which limits full-time employment to 30-hours per week, hurts employees and employers. We asked Senators to support S. 30, the “Forty Hours is Full Time Act of 2015.”
• Protecting consumers from online booking scams: Booking hotel rooms online is a big business, a great convenience for consumers, and a feature hotel companies have successfully implemented for their guests. Bad actors are capitalizing on the success of online bookings and hurting consumers through rip offs, scams, and frauds. We urged Members of Congress to press the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to further investigate this issue.
• Protecting the franchise model: New rules developed by unelected bureaucrats at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) threaten to stifle job creation and destroy the current franchise model, which has allowed so many small businesses to grow and prosper.

"OH&LA members fund their own travel to D.C. for the LAS, so we don't take lightly the fact that it's an investment in their time and budget to join with other Oklahoma members in lobbying for industry issues," said Patti Colley, Executive Vice President of OH&LA. "Speaking with your elected leadership is a great civics lesson and one that every lodging operator should experience at least once. Once again it was a pleasure to have OSU students from AH&LA's first established student chapter join our group this year. Their contribution was evidenced at each appointment." 

Michelle Hartman of SJS Hospitality was the recipient of a scholarship to attend the LAS, provided by the OH&LA and the Oklahoma Chapter of Women In Lodging.  Congratulations again to Michelle!

View all photos from the Summit here.