2010 AH&LA Legislative Action Summit

The WIA is once again heading to Washington D.C. for the 2010 AH&LA Legislative Action Summit:

March 15-16, 2010
J.W. Marriott Hotel
Washington, DC

From AH&LA:

“This is your chance to visit your Senators and Representative and let them know your opinion on pending legislation. There is no better opportunity for hoteliers to come make a big difference on the legislation that matter most to you in 2009 and 2010: economic recovery, health care, card check, and travel.

At the 2010 LAS, you will gain insights from lawmakers and top industry executives on how impending legislation will impact your business decisions. LAS’s Industry CEO panel will feature an in-depth discussion on issues from these top industry leaders:

• Jim Abrahamson, President, The Americas, InterContinental Hotels Group
• Steve Joyce, CEO, Choice Hotels International
• David Kong, President & CEO, Best Western International Inc.
• Christopher Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton Hotels Corporation

With the economy, health care, and card check legislation on the table during the 2010 election year, Congress needs to hear your point of view.”

Click to see the full schedule, accommodation information, or to register now.

For more information on WIA’s scheduled appointments or to join the Wisconsin delegation, please contact the WIA office. In 2009, five WIA members made the trip on behalf of Wisconsin’s lodging industry. Can we get an even stronger showing this year?

H1N1 Flu Information from AH&LA

Those of you who subscribe to the AH&LA SmartBrief may have caught this information in yesterday’s e-newsletter, but if not, here it is again:

Make sure your property is prepared to handle employee absenteeism, sick guests, increased sanitation efforts and the many other challenges H1N1 is predicted to bring to our industry. AH&LA’s new 25-page guide can help answer many of your questions about the flu in the workplace. Visit www.ahla.com/flu for updates throughout the season, as well as additional resources and guidelines.

Also included on AH&LA’s Flu Information page, you’ll find links to:

• Ecolab materials with prevention info as well as “hotel-specific prevention tips”
• Action & Prevention of H1N1 Flu in Hotels
• Current & future H1N1 flu risks for hotels and travelers

Finally, to get the latest information on the 2009 H1N1 Vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control, click on over to their information page here.

As a Partner State of the AH&LA, WIA members with 51+ rooms automatically have dual membership in AH&LA.  For properties with less than 51 rooms, click on over to see the benefits of joining the AH&LA as well as WIA.  Not a WIA member? Check out what you’re missing at JoinWIA.com!

Small Property benefits of AHLA membership

When you join the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), you’re planted at the center of the hotel industry, where breaking national news, top leaders, and exclusive resources are in arm’s reach.

As a member, you’ll find instant savings with over two dozen partner benefits. You’re also empowered to share your voice with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. And you can sit on any of over 30 specialized committees side-by-side with like-minded hoteliers from across the country.

If you take advantage of just one AH&LA benefit, membership for an entire year pays for itself – and many do a lot more than that.

Click the links above or contact Bill in the WIA office for more information on AH&LA membership – including what current members are saying about their investment.

Music + Film Copyrights

The following is from the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AH&LA) Information Center:

“In the United States, music can be copyrighted by the composer of the music (or his designee). Once copyrighted, music cannot be lawfully performed in a public performance or rebroadcast to the public without a license from the copyright holder. “Public performance” is broadly defined. For example, playing a radio over loudspeakers can be deemed a public performance of the songs played on the radio.

The person sponsoring or causing the public performance (not the performers) are required to be licensed. Thus, if a hotel has a band play in its bar, the hotel-not the band-needs the appropriate license.

There are millions of songs; thus, in theory, one needs millions of licenses if one wishes to make music generally available to one’s customers. This is obviously impractical. As a result, music licensing “societies” came into being.

In the United States, there are three such societies: ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. These companies enter into agreements with copyright owners and, by those agreements, obtain the right to license the copyrighted music to other people and agree to pay the copyright holder. Each of these companies owns the right to license thousands of songs. These collective rights are known as catalogs. If you have an ASCAP license, you have the right to play any or all of the thousands of songs in ASCAP’s catalog. If you have a BMI and a SESAC license, you have the right to play the thousands of songs in their catalogs.

The catalogs do not overlap, however. The thousands of songs in ASCAP’s catalog are different from those in BMI’s catalog, and both of their catalogs are different from SESAC’s. The three companies compete to obtain the rights to license songs. As a result of this, in order to be fully protected, you need a license from each of the three societies.”

BMI offers a useful FAQ page for Hotel/Motels with a message from Joe McInerney. ASCAP and SESAC also have FAQ pages on their respective websites.

AH&LA members are eligible for discounts with both BMI and SESAC.  You can access more from the AH&LA members’ section here.  Not sure if you’re an AH&LA member or for more information on the Information Center,  please contact Denise in the WIA office.

Pet Policies

The following is from the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AH&LA) Information Center:

“According to AH&LA’s 2008 Lodging Survey, more than half of all U.S. hotels allow pets… at an additional charge. Economic downturn notwithstanding, the “pet economy” is alive and well as noted in a May 2009 article in BusinessWeek. Hoteliers who would like to capture a portion of this market should have a carefully crafted pet policy to include the following at a minimum:

• Types of pets to be accepted
• Size limit
• Amount to charge
• Noise and damage clauses

As a reference, PetTravel.com has posted general pet policies of major hotel chains on their Website.

For hoteliers contemplating whether or not to accept pets, the Information Center has a number of articles on the pros and cons, as well as material to assist with formulating a property policy. Here is a particularly helpful article by Diana S. Barber, Esq., professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta: “Is a Pet Policy Enough? Best Practices for Inviting Pets into Your Hotel and Avoiding Litigation”

For more information on the AH&LA Information Center or pet policies, please contact Denise in the WIA office.