CHLA Lodging News July/August 2020

www.calodging.com July/August 2020 3 First, there are the many talented and dedicated associates at our hotels. They eat, breathe, and sleep hospitality. Their passion for service, which historically has been at the heart of every property’s success, will be even more important now as we all look for ways to serve guests effectively in an era of less physical interaction. We very much look forward to starting to welcome back to our teams—the more than 77,000 associates who had to be furloughed in California during these unforeseen times. A second symbol of our industry’s unity and strength are the hotels that never closed. Our job as hoteliers is to provide an easy night of rest for travelers who have had a hard day on the road or to provide shelter to those most in need. We salute the hotels in California that stayed open throughout the crisis as beacons of refuge to essential travelers, emergency responders, and COVID-19 at risk populations, even as these properties faced their own difficult journeys. Since its founding in 1893, CHLA has had a rich history of being a proactive advocate and a convenient resource for members. At no time has that been more emphatically true than during 2020, and we will continue to serve California hoteliers so their properties and their dreams can return stronger than ever. Someday, everything we experienced during the past few months will make sense. But for now, California hoteliers are just pleased and excited to be making travelers happy again—even if it is from six feet away! Stay healthy and ever resilient. 