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

You Asked, We Listened: ORLA Launches Health Plan

Visit OregonRLA.org/HealthPlan

The federal healthcare requirements are upon us and as much as the country has tried to avoid the implications of full implementation, it is here to stay. In a recent survey, 97 percent of ORLA’s membership told us to dig in and find a solution. So we did.

Starting in 2016, businesses with 50 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees will be on the hook to pay for the healthcare of any employees working 30 hours or more per week. And if you don’t, say hello to a fine of $2,000 per full-time (30 hours or more) employee per year. That’s right – these fines come knocking every single year.

The year 2016 is a monumental one for healthcare. Through 2015, businesses were able to deduct a total of 80 full-time employees from their fine obligations which led to the majority of businesses having zero liability for the year. In 2016, that changes as the federal government changes the full-time employee deduction to 30. In other words, if you have the equivalent of 50 or more full-time employees and have over 30 employees working 30 hours or more a week (full-time), you will be charged $2,000 per full-time employee over the magic 30 threshold.

At first glance this may seem like a bigger business issue to you. Don’t buy into that trap. As the new fines unfold, employers are bound to see more healthcare coverages for workers emerging in the marketplace creating major competition amongst big and small employers for workers. In the not too distant future, mom and pop location “X” may start to lose their employees to bigger business “Y” because bigger business “Y” is now offering some form of a healthcare plan to their workers to avoid federal fines.

The shifts in the marketplace are coming and the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association is ready with a solution. As of December 1, 2015, ORLA’s health plan options are available for members big and small but will be a member only benefit for active businesses in the association.

For under $49 per full-time worker per month, member businesses will be able to join the ORLA Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) Plan giving each subscriber access to preventative care. In addition, the plan will save large employers from excessive federal fines for not offering coverage and will protect all workers signed up in the plan from individual yearly fines that are incurred when they don’t have health coverage.

In addition, ORLA will offer a MEC Plus Plan for under $69 per full-time worker per month that provides access for each worker to four doctor office visits a year.

Both plans will become a major solution for our industry and member businesses due to their ability to protect employers and their employees from fines while offering an affordable health coverage option to businesses interested in adding a perk to their workforce benefits.

The healthcare evolution in the United States is at our doorstep and we will all feel it one way or the other. Do yourself a favor and take action by owning the solution that has been vetted and packaged for you through your membership.

Visit OregonRLA.org/HealthPlan for more information and to get a quote.

Not a member yet? Email our membership department and we’ll get you squared away. | Jason Brandt, President & CEO