Federal UPDATE- JULY 23, 2020

Great American Outdoors Act: The House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act yesterday, sending the Act to the President for signature. The Great American Outdoors Act would permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund permanent and mandatory. Further, this bill would establish the National Parks and Public Land Restoration Fund to address the deferred maintenance backlog on public lands. AzLTA joined Rep. Schweikert in a press release applauding the passage of the Act.

AHLA Urges Support for Industry: The most pressing concerns for our industry right now are access to liquidity and debt service, and liability protection. In a letter AHLA sent a letter to Congress, we highlight the critical needs of the hotel industry focused on 4 key priorities, including:

  1. Providing additional liquidity for severely impacted businesses through a targeted extension of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

  2. Creating hotel industry relief opportunities utilizing Federal Reserve and Treasury authority to expand the Main Street Lending Facility and address hotel CMBS borrowers.

  3. Including Limited Liability Language for Hotels and Other Places of Public Accommodation.

  4. Ensuring targeted tax provisions such as credits for capital expenditures, employee retention, travel, and others are included that will benefit severely injured businesses and their employees.

AHLA will continue to work with Congress to ensure that the hotel industry’s top priorities are included in the COVID 4.0 relief package and we will be engaging you to weigh in with your Members of Congress at the appropriate time. Your voice will be critical in ensuring our industry gets the ongoing support we need to keep hotels open and bring back furloughed employees.

Push for Cleaning Incentives Continues: Congressman Tom Rice (R-SC), a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, joined the long list Members seeking to help businesses with enhanced cleaning and reconfiguration costs with the introduction of the Healthy Workplace Tax Credit.  AHLA’s recent survey results showed that the industry is overwhelmingly taking measures to protect guests and employees as we work to reopen safely such as personal protective equipment (PPE), barrier shields, hand sanitizers, enhanced cleaning tools and products and more.  AHLA will continue to work in the House and Senate to ensure the hotel industry remains front and center as these bills are negotiated in the coming weeks. 

House Introduces Small Business Proposal: Representatives Filemon Vela (D-TX) and Lance Gooden (R-TX) have introduced H.R. 7671, the Small Business Comeback Act. This bipartisan legislation would establish a federal grant program to assist small businesses with operational expenses so that they may continue to reopen and remain open. By offsetting operational expenditures, businesses will be able to rehire, retain, and provide support for their valued employees. This legislation directs the Secretary of Treasury to appoint a special Administrator to operate a streamlined relief fund that provides nearly instant decisions on loan approvals and quickly distributes funds to businesses that desperately need support. Financial assistance can be used for expenses such as rent, utilities, payroll, and state and local taxes.

Nomination Criteria

Application Guidelines

All honorees must be employed by hotels, attractions, tourism businesses, hospitality or other supporting businesses that are of the Arizona hospitality industry.

Who can enter?

The Stars of the Industry awards competition is open to all Arizona hospitality businesses, hotels, and tourism employees.

Who can nominate a Star?

Anyone! A nominator can be an employer, a manager, a friend, regular customer, or anyone else who knows a Star in Arizona’s hospitality industry who deserves recognition.

What does it cost to enter?

Entering or nominating for the Stars of the Industry Awards is free.

What do nominees receive?

All nominees will receive an AzLTA Stars of the Industry Recognition Certificate.  The winners of each award will be announced at the Stars of the Industry Awards Luncheon on June 16, 2023 and receive an engraved plaque at the awards presentation.  All winners will be announced in AzLTA’s Industry Insider newsletter, by a press release, and on the AzLTA website. Winners will automatically be entered in the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s national Stars of the Industry Awards program. It is AzLTA’s privilege to celebrate the accomplishments of all the nominees and winners presented each year.

Nominations and Eligibility

The nomination process begins in April and we’ve made it easy.  Simply complete the online nominee application form and email the application to AzLTA explaining why the nominee deserves the Star award in their category.

Rules & Judging Criteria

Nominees must have served in the industry for a minimum of two years (please state total number of years in description) and will be judged on performance beyond normal job responsibilities, professionalism, and outstanding and unusual service to the property, guests and the community.

Using no more than three double-spaced pages, describe why your nominee should be honored. Give examples of:

  • Extraordinary support to fellow employees.
  • Specific event(s) that best describes the nominee’s exceptional service.
  • Outstanding leadership qualities, heroic deeds or actions that consistently add to the general well-being of guests.
  • Other great accomplishments to the industry or community.

Include photos and any materials substantiating the award entry, such as letters of commendation, guest comment cards, news clippings and other support materials received during 2021-2023 for the judges’ consideration.

2022 HONOREES