CHLA Lodging News May/June 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 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 Quality Inn & Suites Santa Cruz Mountains Bimal Patel Hotel Zico Pragna Patel-Mueller Samata Management Tom Patton Ramada Santa Barbara Pam Ryan Renaissance Long Beach Hotel 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 PRESIDENT Lynn Mohrfeld CHLA President & CEO In one day, just hours before the bill introduction deadline, California State Legislators slid 742 pieces of legislation across the desk in their respective houses. A total of 2,576 bills have been introduced since the start of the 2019/2020 legislative session, which is a high-water mark for the past six years. After wading through the flood of newly proposed legislation, CHLA identified several bills that would likely benefit our industry in some way: • AB 846 (Burke) —Would protect customer loyalty programs by adding clarifying language to the California Consumer Privacy Act regarding how businesses use loyalty and rewards programs • AB 1497 (Holden) —Would make short-term rental hosting platforms subject to fair housing laws to help prevent discrimination against guests • A B 1731 (Boerner Horvath) —Would limit short-term rentals located within the coastal zone to 30 days annually and would require hosting platforms to collect transient occupancy taxes • AB 1791 (Boerner Horvath) —Would require third-party organizers, such as Airbnb and Uber, to issue 1099-K forms to independent contractors earning more than $600 annually • SB 58 (Wiener) —Would authorize the issuance of additional hours licenses to certain businesses in some of California’s destination cities, allowing these businesses to sell and serve alcoholic beverages until 4 a.m. Additionally, CHLA has joined various coalitions with CalChamber and other organizations to oppose a number of employment-related bills that would cause employers undue hardship, increase employer liability, penalties and recordkeeping requirements, or reduce job opportunities. And not insignificantly, CHLA has been active on the legal front this year as well. Serial drive-by/call-in lawsuits against hotels have increased substantially with many now focusing on ADA website compliance and failure to provide text telephones or assistive listening devices. Without an aggregated legal strategy, it has been less expensive for hoteliers to settle these dubious claims than to engage in a protracted legal battle. Plaintiff attorneys take advantage of the potentially expensive litigation costs by offering hoteliers cost-effective settlement terms that encourage even more of this litigious activity. To mitigate the hardships associated with these claims, CHLA initiated a new membership program. Our members who have been sued for Unruh Act or ADA claims now can hire an attorney through CHLA for a flat legal fee of $2,000 per claim to defend them. continues  