Category: Hospitality Legislation
Aug 20, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post
AH&LA Announces Block To Slash Government Per Diem Rates
AH&LA Blocks Move to Arbitrarily Slash Rates In response to AH&LA’s efforts on behalf of the lodging industry, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced today that they will not alter its market-based methodology in calculating federal per diem rates. After hearing from AH&LA and its members about the severe unintended consequences of radically changing the [...]
Aug 14, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post
State Agency Steps Up Elevator Enforcement
State Agency Steps Up Elevator Enforcement Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) announced it is tightening enforcement on the “firefighters emergency operation” safety feature for all elevators in Texas. While the actual requirements have not changed since 1993, beginning on September 1, 2012, TDLR will take a non-compliant elevator out of service completely instead [...]
Jul 23, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post
Contact Congress to Support the Pool SAFE Act
Lodging Needs to Extend Congressional Pressure As you know, AH&LA successfully secured a 60-day extension of the swimming pool and spa compliance deadline and persuaded the Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider a longer extension to September 17, 2012. However, the lodging industry must contact Congress to keep pressure on the DOJ to adopt the [...]
Apr 17, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post
US Labor Department launches initiative to enforce wage and hour laws
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Mar 30, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post
REMINDER: March 15, 2012 is the deadline to have your ADA compliant pool lift in place at your hotel.
March 15, 2012 is the deadline to have your ADA compliant pool lift in place at your hotel. Please download the ADA Standards for Accessible Design here.
Jan 25, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post
HB 1 : Aggressive Cuts for Marketing Tourism…
Today, the Texas Legislature filed the first draft of the Texas state budget as House Bill 1. To address the anticipated $27 billion shortfall in the budget, HB 1 includes very aggressive cuts to every state agency. Impact on State Tourism Promotion Funding: In this initial draft, HB 1 cuts the state tourism promotion funding [...]
Jan 19, 2011 | 0 comments | View Post
URGENT CALL TO ACTION: STATE TOURISM FUNDING
Many of you may have seen Labor Day press coverage of gubernatorial candidate Bill White calling for a zeroing-out of the state tourism budget. Since Mr. White first made his comments, the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association and the Texas Travel Industry Association have been in contact with his campaign and we are hopeful he [...]
Sep 08, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
Healthcare Reform Law Update
Healthcare Reform: Law summary Basics The new law will require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a fine, beginning in 2014. The law offers tax credits to help low-income individuals to buy coverage, and extends Medicare coverage to those earning up to 133% of the national poverty level ($14,404 for individuals, or $29,326 [...]
Jul 06, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
Internet Travel Tax Fairness Act (ITTFA): The Facts
Over the holiday weekend, the major online travel companies and their national trade association launched a very misleading email campaign to urge both the general public and the travel industry to contact Congress in support of the “Internet Travel Tax Fairness Act” (ITTFA). We want to make sure that you have the correct facts regarding [...]
Jul 06, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
State Agency Adopts Rules for Water Features
State Agency Adopts Rules for Water Features On May 1, 2010, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) adopted its permanent rules for “public interactive water features,” or “PIWFs.” A PIWF is a water spray, dancing water jet, waterfall, dumping bucket, or shooting water cannon that is designed for the purposes of wetting persons [...]
Jul 06, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
National News: Third Party Travel Intermediaries Pushing Federal Hotel Occupancy Tax Legislation
National News: Third Party Travel Intermediaries Pushing Federal Hotel Occupancy Tax Legislation Third party intermediaries (TPIs) such as Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Hotels.com, etc., are promoting new draft federal legislation referred to as the “Internet Travel Tax Fairness Act.” THLA, along with the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), are opposing this legislation because it poses [...]
Jul 06, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
Travel Promotion Act Opens Door for National Funding for Tourism Promotion
Travel Promotion Act Opens Door for National Funding for Tourism Promotion Why was it needed? In 2009, 2.4 million fewer overseas travelers visited the U.S. than in 2000, at an estimated cost of $509 billion to the U.S. economy. Unlike the vast majority of European and counterparts, the United States has to date had no [...]
Jul 06, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
