CHLA Lodging News July/August 2019

2 CALIFORNIA LODGING NEWS 414 29th Street Sacramento, CA 95816 916-444-5780 www.calodging.com EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR Michael Pace Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel VICE CHAIR Bijal Patel, CHA Coast Redwood Hospitality IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Scott VandenBerg Hyatt Regency Sacramento SECRETARY/TREASURER Tom Patton, CHA Ramada Santa Barbara GOVERNMENT & LEGAL RELATIONS CHAIR René Boskoff Monterey Marriott Hotel AUDIT & INVESTMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR Laurenne Douglas Pacific Plaza Hotels, Inc. 2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bhupen Amin Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites René Boskoff Monterey Marriott Hotel Javier Cano JW Marriott at L.A. LIVE Vipul Dayal Days Inn San Francisco Airport West Laurenne Douglas Pacific Plaza Hotels, Inc. Paul Gibbs Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Airport Ross Gimpel PSAV Terri Haack Terranea Resort Jon Handlery Handlery Union Square Hotel Nic Hockman Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel Daniel Kuperschmid Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego Elvin Lai Ocean Park Inn Mark LeBlanc Interstate Hotels & Resorts Hee Won Lim Pacific Palms Resort James Lim Omni San Francisco Hotel RJ Mayer The Mayer Corporation Michelle Millar University of San Francisco Michael Pace Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel Bijal Patel Coast Redwood Hospitality Bimal Patel Hotel Zico Pragna Patel-Mueller Samata Management Tom Patton Ramada Santa Barbara Pam Ryan The Inn at the Mission Chirag Shah AAHOA John Spear Hotel Drisco Jeffrey Thurrell Fisher Phillips Wes Tyler Chancellor Hotel on Union Square Scott VandenBerg Hyatt Regency Sacramento ADVERTISING & DESIGN LLM Publications 503-445-2220  |  800-647-1511 www.LLMpubs.com Design & Layout Sales Representative Stephanie Pendell Katy Patterson katy@llmpubs.com Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved MESSAGE FROM THE VICE CHAIR Bijal Patel CHLA Vice Chair WE ARE IN BUSINESS for ourselves—but not by ourselves. That’s one of the valuable benefits of being a CHLA member, and it’s certainly the guiding principle behind this issue of California Lodging News magazine. Our staff has put together a powerful package of articles that focus on various aspects of the relationship between hotel brands and hotel owners. Franchising is a topic that is as old as our industry, so our objective is to provide you with new information, new perspective, new resources—through a mix of profiles about brands and about owners, plus some practical “how to” tips for improving your business. We are all well aware that owners and franchisors depend on each other heavily for success. They have different objectives and differences of opinions, but they are close business partners who impact each other’s bottom lines. In this issue, we examine some of the ways that the franchise relationship can be enhanced for both sides of the partnership— with honest, innovative, respectful, and productive collaboration. As you read this issue, whether you are a franchisor or a franchisee, ask yourself hard questions such as “what do I expect from my franchise relationship?” and “what could make my franchise partnership better?” Don’t look for lofty, scholarly answers—instead, identify the things that can be realistically achieved to make a day-to-day difference. Some of your ideas may be short-term; some may require longer to put into place; all are worthy of discussion and evaluation. And as you go through this process, ask yourself another important question: What do you expect from CHLA? Every member should understand why he or she belongs to CHLA. CHLA is doing great things, but success is never “one and done”—not for you as a member and not for us as your association. Success is an ongoing journey. We must continue doing what is best and we must improve the rest. In our highly connected world, one essential objective for CHLA is to connect you with opportunity. • The opportunity to learn new ways of thinking and of doing business • The opportunity to advocate on behalf of our industry with legislators and others who make decisions that influence our success • The opportunity to connect with hoteliers, vendors, and industry professionals Please enjoy this issue for the opportunities it brings to you. And please share your ideas with us about CHLA—about what we are doing well and about what we could be doing better. Your answers will provide the guidance we need to progress, reach new milestones, and continue to develop resources that benefit our members. I want to know your feedback as well, so I can better serve you during my term now as Vice- Chairman and upcoming as Chairman. My goal is to make your CHLA membership even more valuable. As hoteliers, we face marketplace challenges every day. But hospitality is still one of the best ways to earn a living in America today. And our CHLA members are some of the brightest hotel entrepreneurs in the country. In the world. It is my hope that we can continue to connect, improve, and learn from each other to not only strengthen our individual properties, brands, and franchises, but to create a more united industry. 