The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is heading to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for its annual Hotels on the Hill fly-in event this week.
The two-day lobbying effort taking place Tuesday and Wednesday will draw more than 200 hoteliers and industry leaders from as many as 36 states to persuade lawmakers on a variety of important policies.
Hoteliers will meet with members and staff from more than 150 House and Senate offices, making several key asks, including co-sponsoring and passing the Closing the Workforce Gap Act (H.R. 7262) that would grow the workforce.
The bill would replace the arbitrary annual cap of 66,000 available H-2B temporary visas with a new, needs-based system, AHLA points out.
The organization is also pushing to protect small businesses by extending the pass-through tax deduction (199A), which is set to expire next year. The deduction provides much-needed tax relief to franchisees and other hotel operating as small businesses.
Hoteliers are also asking Congress to maintain the like-kind exchange (section 1031) allowing hoteliers to defer capital gains taxes when they sell one property if they roll the proceeds into the purchase of a larger one and "protect the franchise business model by opposing any efforts at the federal level to weaken the franchisee-franchisor relationship.
AHLA calls the relationship a cornerstone of the hotel industry.
Guest checking in at a hotel front desk. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/Charlie's)
Finally, industry leaders are calling on lawmakers to "protect consumers and establish parity for the lodging industry" by passing the bipartisan Hotel Fees Transparency Act (S. 2498) and the No Hidden FEES Act (H.R. 6543). This legislation would establish a single and transparent standard for mandatory lodging fee display to create an even playing field for hotels as well as short-term rentals, online travel agencies and metasearch sites.
"Nothing is more effective at shaping public policy for our industry than when hoteliers and their employees tell their stories directly to legislators," AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey said in a statement.
"From tax policies that promote small business growth to expanding the hotel workforce to challenging burdensome regulations, there’s no limit to what hoteliers can achieve when we’re united and speak with one voice. Hotels on the Hill gives us a unique opportunity to do just that."
According to AHLA, the U.S. hotel industry supports nearly 1 in 25 American jobs and is expected to generate nearly $83.4 billion in tax revenue in 2024.
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