Thumbs Up To City Of Seaside For Their Lodging Outreach Efforts

Tourism continues to flourish along Oregon’s coastline and with that success comes efforts by some communities to double down on tourism related investments that can further drive their local economies. The City of Seaside is a prime example of a local government doing it right by proactively engaging their lodging operators at the front end of lodging tax increase discussions.

Due to the success of lodging sales, lodging tax revenue in Seaside has gone up substantially, resulting in double digit increases the past several years. In order to build off that success, the City has proactively reached out to lodging operators about a sizeable renovation to the Seaside Convention Center.

“For the most part our larger hotel and motel properties are very supportive,” said Seaside City Manager, Mark Winstanley. “We have been in discussions about a two percent increase in the tax. All of that money would go towards debt retirement of the facility.”

By focusing on debt retirement, the City would be able to move forward with a desired $15 million renovation of the convention center to add capacity and further expand tourism performance.

“We have been encouraging local governments to reach out proactively to their local lodging operators to discuss tourism investments as a first step,” said Greg Astley, director of Government Affairs for the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA). “That commitment is playing out in Seaside which we hope other cities will learn from.”

Lodging tax creep across Oregon is something being tackled as a top tier advocacy priority for ORLA. The association recently opposed a lodging tax increase proposed in the City of Beaverton due to a questionable claim that a new Center for the Arts would drive tourism traffic and justify an unprecedented new four percent tax on operators inside the city limits. The city also illustrated a lack of engagement with local lodging operators to obtain support for this coveted center.

“The lack of direct outreach by the City of Beaverton to lodging operators located inside the city limits is shameful,” said Jason Brandt, ORLA’s President & CEO. “There is no proof or data available to suggest the proposed Beaverton Center for the Arts will have a ‘substantial purpose of driving tourists’ to the City of Beaverton.”

State law requires that 70 percent of all increases in tourism taxes be used for tourism promotion or tourism related facilities. The City of Beaverton plans to spend the new four percent tax on the Beaverton Center for the Arts, which seems to fail the test of being labeled as a tourism-related facility. Currently, there are no lodging operators in Beaverton supportive of the increase in lodging tax to help pay for the construction of the arts center.

“The contrast between Seaside and Beaverton in their approach to lodging operators is evident,” said Brandt. “On one hand you have a city proactively reaching out to their lodging operators to confirm an increase in the lodging tax would benefit their businesses and the tourism economy. This outreach ultimately led to general support from operators for the increase and investment plan. On the other hand, you have a City pushing through a lodging tax increase with no lodging operator support on an investment that is deeply questionable in regards to its ability to actually generate substantial tourism traffic.”

If you are aware of lodging tax creep in your community, please contact us at Advocacy@OregonRLA.org.

Realignment, Deeper Engagement on Your Doorstep

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association is ramping up an important process to dig deep and implement a rolling strategic plan for the future of the organization. We are now over five years past the merger of the association, which brought lodging and restaurant members under the same umbrella of advocacy and connectivity. Many things have gone well and other areas we are excited to enhance.

As we look to the future, here are some samplings of what you can expect from your association as we further the value proposition for our lodging partners.

The Expansion of Guest Service Gold® Customer Service Training
Over 200 hospitality professionals in Oregon have already been trained through the ORLA Education Foundation’s new training product, Guest Service Gold. The launch has been made possible by the support of the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute and Travel Oregon. Contact Wendy Popkin with ORLA’s Education Foundation to learn more about adding a new dose of confidence to our front line hospitality workers who have lasting impressions on the guest experience.

Relaunching the ORLA Lodging Policy Committee
In one of ORLA’s most recent scientific polls of the membership, lodging members expressed that the value of greatest importance is industry representation. Our goals will include statewide industry representation, consistent participation, and establishing a regular meeting schedule to tackle the advocacy issues of importance to members.

Online Travel Companies
In my first five months on the job, it has become clear that more exploration is needed to look at how ORLA can assist our independent lodging members in negotiations with online travel companies who carry significant leverage in their talks with this segment of our membership. Given the supply filled by these elusive partners, what can ORLA do to pool the collective power of independents? The issue needs a deep dive.

Human Trafficking
We will not shy away from uncomfortable issues that impact our industry and the professionals that work within it. We recently held a brainstorming session about the importance of introducing legislation in Oregon that could create rehabilitation services needed specifically for victims of human trafficking to break the cycle of abuse as well as harsher punishments for individuals seeking these services. We remain optimistic that a viable partnership between ORLA, lawmakers, law enforcement, and district attorneys is in the works and that our work will be driven by real outcomes that have the potential to change lives.

These issues and others will continue to be explored as we do our best to expand and enhance our deliverables to the lodging industry. We look forward to working with you to accomplish important goals for our future. Our work always starts with your feedback.

Feel free to email me with your suggestions at JBrandt@OregonRLA.org. | Jason Brandt, President & CEO

Immigration reform continues to be an important topic for the hospitality industry.

As one of the largest trade associations in Oregon, Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) has a vested interest in all things generating business for the industry. Bill Perry, vice president of Government Affairs, and ORLA member Gus Castaneda, general manager of The Mark Spencer Hotel, recently attended a roundtable discussion on “Business Imperatives for Immigration Reform” in Portland. The Hon. Francisco J. Sánchez, undersecretary of commerce for International Trade - U.S. Department of Commerce was the featured speaker for the program.

Although it was a small group of only 35 business people, discussions were productive and focused on immigration issues around growing the economy. Specifically, topics covered: how to make it easier for tourists in far eastern countries like China and India to get travel visas, professional or skilled visas, and the importance of overall immigration reform. The forum was sponsored by the White House, Portland Business Alliance and the Hispanic Chamber.

If you weren’t already aware, ORLA serves as co-chair of the Coalition for a Working Oregon (CWO), an organization created with the goal of advocating for comprehensive immigration reform. With 22 member organizations, CWO represents the first consolidated effort by Oregon employers to create support for a measured and sensible approach to comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level. Visit the Coalition’s website for more information or to get involved.

Will electric vehicle charging stations be the next big amenity?

For Oregon that might just come to fruition. Electric vehicles “EVs” are certainly getting attention these days and with a federally-funded program aimed at installing public chargers throughout the state we’ll likely see more hotels (and restaurants) get on board as locations for the service. The Heathman Hotel already has an EV station in their garage for guests to plug in during their stay and the Doubletree Hotel is next in line to offer this as a guest amenity. "We see how electric vehicles are going to change the landscape in the tourism industry for the coming years” says Chris Erickson, general manager of The Heathman.

As early adopters in providing sustainability programs, both Portland hotels were revved up when the opportunity to install a charging station became a reality through the EV Project. This national, federally-funded program will set out to install close to 1,100 pedestal-style stations around the state by the end of the year. Funding for the program in Oregon will also help advance the West Coast Green Highway initiative, planting quick-charge stations along the I-5 corridor. Read more about how these charging stations are bringing EVs into Oregon’s tourism industry in “Electrifying Oregon”. [Lodging News, June 2011]

Will gas hikes affect the travel market?

Not likely. When looking at historical trends and forecasts, rising oil prices will most likely not have a negative affect on travel bookings. The only scenario where it might be a factor is if barrel prices breach $150 per barrel (U.S.). What we saw during the last “gas-price crisis” was consumer spending decrease in the grocery stores and increase at the gas station. This time around, forecasters predict consumers will still choose gas and food, but likely postpone the big purchases - i.e., new cars.

At a recent Meet the Money Conference, Jan Freitag, vice president of Smith Travel Research (STR), shared that the U.S. hotel industry sold more room nights during the first quarter of this year than it did during the first quarter of each of the last five years. “Group room demand is basically on par with where it was in 2008 or so,” he said. “It’s going to be very interesting to see how that demand plays out.” Read more story highlights at HotelNewsNow.com.

In the latest issue of ORLA's Lodging News magazine, you can read a related article by Smith Travel Research on Oregon’s rosy outlook. “Promising Outlook: Oregon Hoteliers Can Expect Better Times Ahead”, shares insight on the state’s forecasted performance and how it breaks down in the Portland and Eugene markets.

Siskiyou Welcome Center Slowly Moves Forward

Ealier this week, Ashland City Council approved use of the city’s water and sewer service for the Siskiyou Safety Rest Area and Welcome Center, a big step forward for a project 16 years in the making. The proposal does come with a few conditions that must be met however: water use is limited to potable purposes only (not for landscape irrigation), welcome center facility must be built within 4 years and have adequate staffing and maintenance, and Oregon State Police must have a substation on site.

Additionally, for the project to move forward, the Jackson County Commissioners must approve an exception to a land use rule, allowing for an exception in city water use outside city limits. The Commissioners have made exceptions before and will bring this issue to the table in May.

As for funding the project, Oregon Department of Transportation must secure about $5 million to build the rest area, with intent to implement sustainable practices. Travel Oregon will be looking at federal funding to help secure the $2.5 million needed to build the welcome center.

Several industry partners were on hand to testify at the Council meeting including Scott West, Travel Oregon, Drew Baily, Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, and Matt Folz, Xanterra Parks / Crater Lake. Carolyn Hill, CEO of Southern Oregon Visitors Association, shared travel impact data where the average visitor spends $158 a day in the Rogue Valley, illustrating how the availability of additional information on Ashland and area attractions will convince visitors to stay longer.

Although State Welcome Centers are only one component of the state's overall visitor information environment, they are key in helping to provide visitors with valuable information to enhance their experience in our state.

Roseburg City Council Shot Down Proposal That Would Have Reduced VCB's Marketing Budget

On March 28, Roseburg City Council rejected a proposal to use hotel and motel taxes to revamp the South Umpqua waterfront. Under this proposal, the city’s VCB would have had about $200,000 a year less in their advertising budget. Drew Baily, regional representative for ORLA, provided testimony before Roseburg City Council in opposition to this proposal.

Here’s an excerpt from his testimony:

“At this time, we (ORLA) do not support the proposal to reduce the Roseburg marketing budget allocated to tourism promotion and ask that you table any discussion of reducing the funds used for marketing. The hospitality industry is one of the leading economic drivers for the state and we ask that you continue to support and promote a growing, sustainable and productive industry in Roseburg.

There may never be a right time to raise taxes or put jobs at risk, but there certainly are wrong times to do so. Douglas County’s unemployment rate remains in double digits and any decision that puts existing and future business growth at risk should be avoided if at all possible.

Some wine industry experts predict that Southern Oregon and the Umpqua Valley are positioned to be the next Napa Valley. Roseburg should reaffirm its commitment to spurring on economic growth through promotion of sustainable, high yield industries. The tourism industry is one that creates a positive economic impact on communities throughout Oregon.

We ask you to reject any proposal that threatens to further weaken the local tourism economy or negates the long-term benefit gained from a robust tourism industry. Thank you for the opportunity to provide input into this important matter before Council.”

Read more on ORLA's advocacy efforts.

ORLA reps discuss industry issues with Oregon’s congressional leaders

Last week a small contingent of ORLA members met with Oregon members of Congress during the second day of the AH&LA Legislative Action Summit in Washington, D.C. We were able to meet with Congressman Greg Walden, Congressman Kurt Schrader and legislative assistants for Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. The visits were productive and our voice was heard on issues we felt important to our industry.

We discussed these specific issues during each of our congressional appointments:

Online Travel Companies - The Expedias of the world are paying local room tax based on their negotiated "wholesale" rate while selling the rooms at a higher retail rate. The result is lower income for the local taxing authority, and a less than straightforward transaction with the consumer who thinks they've paid the room tax on their higher transaction. The danger is that the taxing authority may come after the hotel for the remainder of the unpaid (in their eyes) taxes.

Tourism Investment - We discussed how the funds are being developed for international marketing of travel to the U.S. and the need to ensure it is spent promoting tourism and not taken to fund other programs in these tough budgetary times. These marketing dollars generate increased spending in the U.S. as well as job growth in the tourism industry among restaurants and lodging properties.

International Travel – We need to make it easier for the Asian rim nations to obtain visas to visit the U.S. The current process is cumbersome and it can take 45 - 60 days. That discourages travel to the U.S. as it takes as little as 10 days to obtain visas to other nations competing for the Asian vacation traveler. China alone is projected to have 100 million of its citizens travelling internationally in the coming years. It is to Oregon’s advantage as a Pacific Rim port to do all it can to encourage ease of travel for this lucrative and extensive market.

Unions - We also discussed the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the pro-union makeup of its board. They have moved from the intended judiciary activities it was designed to perform to one of a more regulatory and rule making model that is intent in providing as much assistance as possible for union organizing activities. We left a list of previous rulings by past NLRB boards (a judiciary function) that the current NLRB board is reviewing with an eye to issuing new rulings that are more pro-union in nature or anti-business in nature depend on your viewpoint.

Steve McCoid
President / CEO