PRLA Restaurant & Lodging Matters Spring 2021

4 • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters • Spring 2021 INDUSTRY OUTLOOK AS PENNSYLVANIA’S PANDEMIC mitigation begins to ease and a sense of normalcy gradually returns, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the last 15 months. Exhausting, grueling, trying, tough. Pick one and it probably describes how 2020 felt for someone in the hospitality and tourism industry. All segments and sectors were severely impacted by the pandemic and subsequent mitigation and all struggled to survive. But do you know what else shone through the bleak times? Grit, determination, innovation, efficiency. Operators across the board displayed endless tenacity as they pivoted to adapt to the rules of the day, time and again. Operators and their teams took on the challenges presented by the pandemic and adopted new ways to generate revenue and keep their lights on. Like you, PRLA had to adapt. One of our biggest pivots was to open our full slate of resources and information to the entire industry, regardless of membership status. It was critical for the industry’s survival that operators had access to accurate and timely information. PRLA quickly developed a daily newsletter, The Daily Update, that became the trusted information source for many of you. We’ve sent over 300 editions and nearly 1.5 million emails, giving you access to the best information available so you could make the best possible decisions for your business. And it’s something we will continue to do once the pandemic has passed. Our other critical pivot was to craft a list of legislative priorities necessary for the industry’s survival and focus our advocacy efforts on these items. Some of these items provided operators greater flexibility and new revenue streams, like cocktails-to-go and expansion of premise. Other items focused on financial relief, such as PPP, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and the CHIRP grant. While more items are in progress, such as securing an additional 5 percent liquor license discount and making cocktails- to-go permanent. Perhaps one of the most important outcomes of this most difficult of years will be to learn from the experience. Pennsylvania Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who served with the FBI during the 9/11 tragedy, recently spoke about the “never again” template that followed the attack on the World Trade Center. The United States and its various security agencies put in place systems to ensure that such a catastrophe could never happen again. His point was that we need to do the same in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. First and foremost, we need to be better prepared to stop or slow the spread of a virus like the coronavirus. And we need to learn from the missteps that led to additional strife and human tragedy brought on by experimental mitigation. Local elections matter, and their significance cannot be overstated. Voters in Pennsylvania, during the May 18 ballot referendum, overwhelmingly confirmed their belief that future emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic need to be handled differently. It is now up the state legislature to ensure that real science and common- sense solutions are used in the successful management of crises in the future. These 15 months have been challenging for a multitude of reasons; however, I have never been prouder to represent this magnificent industry. • John Longstreet PRLA PRESIDENT & CEO “We’ve sent over 300 editions and nearly 1.5 million emails, giving you access to the best information available so you could make the best possible decisions for your business.”