Washington Lodging Forecast and More: Highlights from Washington Lodging Association’s 2011 Annual Conference October 2-4, 2011 – Tulalip Resort
Washington hotel owners, operators and suppliers enjoyed two days of learning, socializing and recognizing their colleagues’ successes at the recent Washington Lodging Association’s 2011 Annual Conference at the incredible Tulalip Resort and Spa. This year’s Conference featured a variety of presentations on workforce challenges, recent changes to the ADA, revenue management, fraud prevention and social media.
I had the opportunity to again moderate a general session on the current state of the lodging industry. This year, in addition to featuring the regular industry forecast from Chris Kraus of PKF, the panel included representatives from each of the three key guest segments (corporate, group and leisure) responsible for generating future lodging demand. This year’s panelists included Amy Severson of Expedia, Kathy Gerke of CRG Events, Linda Broderick of HelmsBriscoe, Lisa Bliss of Boeing and Chris. A copy of Chris’ presentation is available here.
Kevin L. Maher, SVP of Governmental Affairs for the American Hotel & Lodging Association ended the Conference on Tuesday morning with a very informative presentation on the widely publicized changes to the ADA (which while not officially taking effect until March of next year, may already impact decision making going on today) and their effect on the hospitality industry. Rather than summarize Kevin’s presentation, I have attached a copy of the presentation here. If you would like more information on the recent changes to the ADA and how they might impact you and/or your property, please contact my partner, Diana Shukis. Diana chairs our firm’s Labor and Employment practice and is a member of our firm’s Hospitality, Travel and Tourism practice. Diana is currently working with a number of hotel clients to thoroughly examine and implement these important changes.
In close, I want to acknowledge and congratulate Howard Cohen, Vice President of the Clise Hotel Division. Howard was recognized at this year’s Conference as the 2011 WLA Hotelier of the Year. Well done Howard.
Posted in Conference Notes
Tagged as ADA, American Hotel & Lodging Association, Boeing, Chris Kraus, Clise Properties, Cohen, CRG Events, Diana Shukis, Expedia, HelmsBriscoe, Howard, Lodging, Washington
