2 CALIFORNIA LODGING NEWS 414 29th Street Sacramento, CA 95816 916-444-5780 www.calodging.com EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR Tom Patton, CHA Ramada by Wyndham Santa Barbara VICE CHAIR Hee-Won Lim Pacific Palms Hotel IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Bijal Patel, CHA Coast Redwood Hospitality SECRETARY/TREASURER Dhruv Patel Ridgemont Hospitality GOVERNMENT & LEGAL RELATIONS CHAIR Javier Cano JW Marriott at L.A. LIVE AUDIT & INVESTMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR Laurenne Douglas Pacific Plaza Hotels, Inc. 2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kristi Allen Ensemble Real Estate Solutions & Investments Bhupen Amin Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Javier Cano JW Marriott at L.A. LIVE Vipul Dayal Days Inn San Francisco Airport West Laurenne Douglas Pacific Plaza Hotels, Inc. Jeff Durham Redwood Fortuna Riverwalk Hotel Paul Gibbs, CHA Sonesta Redondo Beach and Marina Ross Gimpel Encore Terri Haack Terranea Resort Jon Handlery, CHA Handlery Union Square Hotel Niles Harris InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown Wendy Heineke Pebblebrook Hotel Trusts Todd Hersperger Sunstone Hotel Investors Nic Hockman Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel Matt Humphreys Hyatt Regency San Francisco Daniel Kuperschmid Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego Mark LeBlanc Aimbridge Hospitality Hee-Won Lim Pacific Palms Resort RJ Mayer The Mayer Corporation Michelle Millar University of San Francisco Michael Pace InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel Bijal Patel, CHA Coast Redwood Hospitality Bimal Patel, CHA Hotel Zico Perry Patel BPR Hotels Pragna Patel-Mueller Samata Management Joe Piantedosi Park Hotels & Resorts Chip Rogers American Hotel and Lodging Association Pam Ryan The Inn at the Mission John Spear Hotel Drisco Jeffrey Thurrell Fisher Phillips Wes Tyler, CHA Chancellor Hotel on Union Square Bobby Walia Hyatt Hotels Corporation ADVERTISING & DESIGN LLM Publications 503.445.2220 | 800.647.1511 www.llmpubs.com Design & Layout Sales Representative Stephanie Pendell Grandt Mansfield grandt@llmpubs.com Copyright © 2022. All Rights Reserved IT WILL COME AS NO SURPRISE that California’s hospitality is in the midst of an unprecedented and tumultuous period. We all know colleagues who have shuttered hotels, we have all felt the pain of furloughing staff, we have all experienced anxiety with rapidly changing operational guidelines. So, the question becomes, what can we do to fix it—and how can we work together to build our industry beyond our peak in 2019? Travel demand has been reshaped by the pandemic. Room demand in many markets was once primarily driven by group and business travel, but now leisure travel is the dominant segment. Recent forecasts indicate global business travel will not fully recover until 2024, while leisure travel in some regions is topping 2019 levels. As hoteliers, we need to redefine how we view travel and adapt to provide travelers with the experiences they are coming to expect in the era of remote work. A traveler’s experience does not start at the entrance of your hotel—it encompasses their entire trip from start to finish. It begins with either the flight from the airport or the road trip to your establishment. It continues as your guests explore the restaurants, retail, and attractions that make your destination unique. Finally, it ends each night at your hotel. While hoteliers focus heavily on shaping a traveler’s experience in the hotel, it is just as important that we have a role in helping shape their entire experience in our community. Our state’s hospitality industry has been subject to a range of issues over the past few years, with homelessness and criminal activity being two of the largest. That combined with significant staffing challenges and, in many cases, exceedingly onerous local legislation. Now is our time to be involved in the conversations which will help shape our communities for the better. We have an opportunity to help guide policy decisions which will revitalize communities and restore travel to their pre-pandemic levels. Over the coming year, CHLA will call on you to advocate for our industry—I ask you to respond to the call and encourage your fellow hoteliers to do so as well. When compared to other industries, the U.S. hospitality industry has one of the lowest responses to advocacy efforts. I have confidence that we can change that for California—I am calling on you to step up when you see things that need to be done. Get active in local and state politics, respond to CHLA’s calls to action, and use your voice to protect your interests and our industry. CHLA works on behalf of all California’s hoteliers. If you have an issue, please call us. If you hear us ask for your voice, please respond knowing that it is to protect your hotel, your employees, and your livelihood. It is both an honor and a privilege to serve as the 2022 Chair of the California Hotel & Lodging Association’s Board of Directors. We have a passionate group of leaders at CHLA who are all working diligently to help California’s hospitality industry recover, rehire, and thrive. Thank you for your membership and involvement! MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Tom Patton CHLA Chair
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