As part of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AHLA) recent Hotels on the Hill event, more than 250 members of the organization, including chairman Mitch Patel, flew into Washington, DC, to meet with lawmakers to discuss legislative policies vital to the hotel industry.
Rosanna Maietta, president/CEO, AHLA, called Hotels on the Hill the association’s biggest advocacy event of the year, adding, “Our members had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with hundreds of their lawmakers and staff about tax reform, the franchising model, our unique workforce challenges and the importance of a robust travel and tourism industry on the broader U.S. economy.”
She said the AHLA leaders we pleased by the reception the members received from lawmakers, “particularly related to the need to provide hoteliers with tax certainty. There was significant recognition of the importance of visa reform to ensure that our members are fully staffed throughout the year. “
Maietta emphasized the importance of collaborating with members of Congress to advance the association’s mission of doing everything possible to support its members.
“With hotels in every congressional district, members of Congress understand how our industry helps drive economic growth and jobs in their communities,” she said. “Yet, it’s so important we continuously reinforce the benefits of our industry across the political aisle. Since our fly-in, we’ve held hundreds of meetings and have been so pleased that there is widespread bipartisan appreciation for the importance of our industry.”
While in DC, the AHLA honored several policymakers with the “Spirit of Hospitality Award” for their efforts to advance the travel and tourism industry: Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Marvin Kaplan, chair, National Labor Relations Board.
Maietta applauded the July 4 signing of the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law, noting, “It provides our members with the tax certainty they need to successfully operate their businesses. We were pleased to see several pro-growth tax measures—such as the small business deduction, 100% bonus depreciation and expanded business interest deductibility—made permanent.”
While Hotels on the Hill was a great success in the eyes of the association, its advocacy work is never done.
“There is no shortage of advocacy in and outside Washington,” said the AHLA CEO. “Indeed, at the state and local level, we are concerned about onerous workforce ordinances that make it harder to run a business at a time when operating costs are rising twice as fast as revenue. In cities like Los Angeles, we’re fighting to stop the implementation of one such bill that would devastate small business hotel owners and lead to tens of thousands of layoffs. Through a coalition of like-minded groups, the campaign submitted 140,000 signatures to put the issue to voters on the 2026 ballot.”
