The Chancellor Hotel Staff Participates in the California Hotel & Lodging Association's Legislative Awareness Summit in Sacramento

Four of us from the Chancellor Hotel went up to the Capitol on April 1st (no fools) for the Eighth Annual California Lodging Industry Legislative Awareness Summit to advocate:

♦ Opposition to the economy hotel crime bill (SB 355) - Which requires "economy" hotels to post at the front desk and on their website all of the calls for service through 911. Well intentioned, but terribly flawed legislation.

♦ Support of meal-rest period legislation (SB 287) - We are just looking for clarification and mutually agreed upon flexibility.

♦ Educate the legislators on the importance of meetings and conferences to the industry. It is amazing how much damage the leaders do when they vilify meetings, resort travel, retreats and the like. When companies cancel their meetings, retreats and travel, it is the many hotel workers and local small businesses that depend on the hotels like event managers, photographers, florist, taxis, limos, shuttles, tour operators and more that suffer. Not to mention all of the local and state tax revenue that is lost. Travel and meetings mean business.

We joined Approximately 300 members of the California Hotel & Lodging Association (CH&LA), the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), the California Lodging Industry Association (CLIA), and the California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns (CABBI) to meet with over 100 legislators at the Capitol.

Following opening remarks by Tony Bruno, Vice President of Hotels and Downtown Disney and the event chairman, the audience was treated to Deborah Marriott Harrison, Vice President of Government Affairs for Marriott International, Inc. who spoke on the need to be involved.

The keynote speaker for this year's legislative summit was Steve Poizner, California gubernatorial candidate and State Insurance Commissioner (pictured), who discussed moving the California economy forward.

Other presentations at the Summit included a panel of CH&LA, CLIA, and AAHOA lobbyists, among others, that was moderated by Marlene Colucci, Executive Vice President for Public Policy, American Hotel & Lodging Association detailing the issues and providing tips and tricks when visiting the legislators. Also, CH&LA’s past President & CEO and current Member Legal Advisor Jim Abrams along with Hitesh Bhakta from the Law Offices of Norman Filer gave an update ADA laws and the impact to the hotel and lodging industry.