May June 2018

414 29th Street Sacramento, CA 95816 916-444-5780 www.calodging.com EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR Scott VandenBerg Hyatt Regency Sacramento VICE CHAIR Michael Pace Clift Hotel IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Elvin Lai Ocean Park Inn SECRETARY/TREASURER Bijal Patel Coast Redwood Hospitality GOVERNMENT & LEGAL RELATIONS CHAIR René Boskoff Monterey Marriott Hotel AUDIT & INVESTMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR Laurenne Douglas Pacific Plaza Hotels 2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Matt Adams Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego Bhupen Amin Lotus Hotels & Investments Ed Bear AutoClerk, Inc. René Boskoff Monterey Marriott Hotel Javier Cano JW Marriott, LA Live Russ Cox Interstate Hotels & Resorts Vipul Dayal VNR Management Laurenne Douglas Pacific Plaza Hotels, Inc. Paul Gibbs Crowne Plaza LAX Ross Gimpel PSAV Terri Haack Terranea Resort Jon Handlery, CHA Handlery Hotels, Inc. Elvin Lai Ocean Park Inn Mark LeBlanc Interstate Hotels & Resorts Hee Won Lim Pacific Palms Resort James Lim Omni San Francisco Robert Mayer, Jr. The Robert Mayer Corporation Stephanie McCaffrey McCaffrey House Elliott Mills Disneyland Resort Michael Pace Clift Hotel Bijal Patel Coast Redwood Hospitality & Management Bimal Patel, CHA Concept Hotels Pragna Patel-Mueller Samata Management, Inc. Tom Patton, CHA Ramada Santa Barbara Chip Rogers AAHOA Pat Seminario Newport Beach/Irvine/ Bayview/Costa Mesa Marriott Hotels John Spear Hotel Drisco Jeffrey Thurrell Fisher & Phillips, LLP Wes Tyler, CHA 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 Dan Hartzog danh@llmpubs.com Copyright © 2018. All Rights Reserved 2 CALIFORNIA LODGING NEWS MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR In today’s political climate, it is crucial to advocate directly to your legislators and voice your support of the industry. CH&LA partnered with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) to host the 17th annual Legislative Action Summit this past March. During this year’s well-attended summit, we educated hoteliers on pressing issues and proposed legislation that will affect the industry. I was proud to see a large contingent of hoteliers from all over the state meeting with legislators to discuss these important bills. These briefings with your district representatives are vital as you are the true face of the industry and are best able to explain how a law will personally impact your business. This year, our subsequent advocacy efforts have been largely focused on supporting human trafficking training legislation and opposing a bill that would mandate panic buttons for hotel employees, signs in guestrooms and a blacklist provision. CH&LA, in its ongoing attempt to be proactive in addressing and solving the issue of human trafficking in the hotel industry, is building off last year’s efforts and is again supporting legislation by Senator Toni Atkins that will require a hotel or lodging property to train its employees in recognizing and reporting the signs of human trafficking. This legislation is consistent with CH&LA’s approach, which already includes offering members training programs to identify and respond to human trafficking at hotel properties. Another major issue being considered by the legislature this year is hotel employee safety. The safety of guests and hotel employees is a top priority. While no industry is immune to dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace, our industry has in place procedures and protocols for employee reporting and prevention that are continuously reviewed and updated. CH&LA is supportive of the many hotels in the state that already provide panic buttons to their employees. A pending bill in the legislature, Assembly Bill 1761 (Muratsuchi), would mandate that hotel employees receive panic buttons; however, CH&LA is opposed to this bill as we have significant concerns with a provision requiring lodging properties to blacklist guests as it would be very difficult to enforce and we believe posting signs in each guest room informing guests that employees carry panic buttons gives potential perpetrators the opportunity to disarm employees before the device is used. Other bills supported by CH&LA that are advancing through the legislature include a bill that would give selected cities the option to allow bars and restaurants to serve alcohol between 2 and 4 am with the appropriate permits and approval from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Additionally, CH&LA supports a bill that authorizes a waiver of late filing/ payment penalties for individuals, sole proprietors and partnerships, who historically have filed and paid their income taxes on time. In addition to our work in the legislature, other advocacy efforts that CH&LA is involved with include local and regional short-term rental ordinances, Proposition 65, housekeeping and indoor heat illness. CH&LA is also involved in numerous coalitions focused on the regulatory environment, employment law, and tax issues. Your membership and participation in CH&LA have contributed to our continuous efforts to shape the laws and regulations that affect our industry.  Scott VandenBerg CH&LA Chair