Retrospective

AAHOA Lodging Business MAY 201226

A Statesman Says FarewellALB sat down for an extensive interview with outgoing AAHOA Chairman Hemant Patel, who highlighted the association’s successes during his tenure and shared his favorite memories

When Hemant Patel became an AAHOA Board member, the association had between

3,000 and 4,000 members. Patel envi-sioned the membership would even-tually reach 7,000. When membership surged past 9,000, Patel placed a tag on his car that reads “AAHOA 9K.”

After more than a decade serving on the AAHOA Board, Patel became Chairman on June 18, 2011 during the AAHOA Annual Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas, promis-ing to harness the incredible power of the members’ energy to benefit all. During his tenure, membership reached 11,000 and AAHOA has grown into a force perhaps unimagi-nable when Patel first joined.

“I can proudly say we hit the record high for membership. So now I need to get a tag that says ‘AAHOA 11K,’” he said. “Our membership has grown. Our membership is more involved. They see the value of the membership because we did things that are important for their pocket-books.”

Political AdvocacyAs Chairman, Patel placed a focus on fair franchising, banking issues, especially foreclosures, and govern-ment affairs. Always known for his passion for politics, it is this latter issue for which Patel may best be remembered.

“We live and breathe politics whether we like it or not,” Patel said. “Getting involved in politics is a prudent job for a businessman. We have to be involved because every decision that is made is going to af-fect our pocketbook.”

Officers, Board members, Ambassadors, and other associa-

tion allies made frequent trips to Washington, D.C. to meet with and lobby members of Congress on the association’s legislative priorities. September’s Annual Congressional Day was a huge success, with the as-sociation holding 91 meetings with members of Congress and their staff representing 29 states.

Officers and several Board mem-bers met with officials from the FDIC to discuss the detrimental impact of loss-share agreements and with

By Jonathan Springston, AAHOA Lodging Business

AAHOA Chairman Hemant Patel on stage during the 2011

AAHOA Annual Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas

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MAY 2012 AAHOA Lodging Business

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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to discuss small business needs. At the end of 2011, Congress passed a bill that calls on the FDIC to study bank failures.

“We spent two hours [with the FDIC] discussing how banks are abusing the loss-share agreements. It helps the bankers and the people who are opportunistic about capital-izing on a downfall,” Patel said. “When a bank takes over a hotel, that results in a loss of minimum wage jobs. At one time, we employed close to 1.3 million minimum wage workers. Currently, we have around 700,000. So you can see the aftermath of the banking foreclosures and bad economy. These people serve our day-to-day income.”

AAHOA formed the Banking Task Force Committee to formulate strategies to combat foreclosures and other financial issues. Repre-sentatives from Delta Capital Group delivered presentations at each AAHOA Regional meeting to edu-cate members on best practices for restructuring debt.

With the help of Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) and Florida Ambassadors, AAHOA managed to gain serious congressional support for “The Common Sense Economic Recov-ery Act.” After extensive lobbying efforts, President Obama in January signed an executive order introduc-ing new initiatives to boost travel

and tourism in the United States.“We have to be involved and

active. If there are concerns, you have to bring it your congressman or congresswoman,” Patel said. “Let’s not assume that an elected official knows everything. We have to give them what we know because we are the experts of the industry. We show them the true picture. Someone who has no experience running a hotel has no idea how much cost is in-volved in just serving one breakfast. Or just having four extra pillows in the room.”

Fair FranchisingBefore Patel became Chairman, many members called on AAHOA to increase pressure on Choice in order to get the hotel giant to back off on some of its more unrealistic mandates and improve its overall relationship with franchisees.

In late September, AAHOA sent Choice a letter giving the brand 90 days to come to the negotiating table to sort out some of these lingering issues.

“We got Choice to understand that this is a partnership, that we need to play on a level playing field, and they agreed,” Patel said. “We had disagreements but divorce was not an option. We sat at the table [and] we came to a liveable solution that is in the best interests of our franchisees.”

With the input and leadership of people like attorney Robert Zarco and past AAHOA Chair-

If there are concerns, you have to bring it your congressman or congresswoman. Let’s not assume that an elected official knows everything.

Hemant Patel prepares for a televised interview in Washington, D.C. during the 2011 AAHOA Legislative Summit

Hemant Patel (center) will soon join the ranks of distinguished past Chairmen, like Nash Patel (right)

Retrospective

AAHOA Lodging Business MAY 201228

men, Choice agreed to drop the 80 percent RevPAR requirement from its Impact Policy and change the makeup of the Choice Hotels Owners Council (CHOC) to include single-property owners, among other agreements.

“It’s a relationship that has to be beneficial to both sides. When we see unfair balance on one side, that needed to be addressed for a long time. Every year, franchise compa-nies have been putting more and more burdens on hotels. That takes away from that top line,” Patel said. “At the same time, there is a fear about unfair competition from the same brands.”

“The biggest achievement of this negotiation is that we got a clause, in writing from Choice, of good faith and fair dealing,” he added. “That has now set a stand-ard for every company that does business with AAHOA, including vendors.”

Last year, AAHOA formed alliances with other franchise companies to draw up the Universal Franchisee Bill of Rights, an expansion of the fundamentals outlined in AAHOA’s Points of Fair Franchising. As Chairman, Patel continued the associa-tion’s efforts to ensure fran-chise companies participate in fair faith and dealing.

“We asked every brand, under the guidance of fair

faith and dealing, in what areas are you lacking,” he said. “Along with forming coalitions with different franchise groups, we are trying to go on the state level to make some changes in franchise law. It will take a lot of effort because you are fight-ing an uphill battle with some big companies. It’s going to take time.”

Women Step UpAs AAHOA continued delivering on promises, members became more active, especially women and young professionals.

The Women In Hotel Leadership (WIHL) Conference attracted hun-dreds of AAHOA women to Dallas in November. The Women’s Committee presented several seminars at AA-

HOA Regional meetings that offered sound advice from knowledgeable speakers.

The Board passed a budg-et that allows for 10 women to travel to Washington, D.C. for various lobbying events. The Women’s Committee even expressed interest in forming its own political committee to enhance their advocacy efforts.

“Our ladies are the back-bone of our success,” Patel said. “If you had to take the ladies out of our AAHOA equation, we would not be here today.”

AAHOA eMarket and OTA

As Patel’s time as Chairman drew to a close, AAHOA had managed to pre-enroll

The biggest achievement of this negotiation is that we got a clause, in writing from Choice, of good faith and fair dealing. That has now set a standard for every company that does business with AAHOA, including vendors.

Patel believes strongly in forming political alliances,

regardless of party affiliation, in order to achieve goals

Patel with Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) in her Washington, D.C. office

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hundreds of members into the association’s online procurement cooperative (AAHOA eMarket) and its online travel agency (mybestho-telrate.com).

“Marketing is our biggest chal-lenge,” Patel said of the OTA. “Our one strength is our membership but we don’t have the marketing dollars. If you look at [traditional] OTAs, they spend over $300 million on marketing. It’s a David versus Goliath fight.”

“It will take a couple of years to realize the full vision of these,” he added. “It was a long-term objective. We had to work hard this year to get people signed up. Once people start signing up, it gets healthier.”

Internal PoliticsWhile leading the association through these many challenges, Patel had to carefully navigate the landscape of internal Board politics.

“It was my challenge to keep my Board focused on important issues and not to focus on small issues that divide us,” Patel said. “Internal politics, as long as it’s healthy, is all good. There is always going to be internal politics in any big organiza-

tion. It even exists in families.”

Despite a few dif-ferences, Patel credits the Board, as well as other non-Board members serving on committees and the AAHOA staff, for de-livering on values.

“We stayed focused on our core issues and we delivered on them. If not for my Board, I would not succeed,” he said. “I give them a lot of credit. Our new Board members were very constructive.”

Looking AheadPatel relishes the time he spent leading AAHOA but is looking forward to spending time tending to his business interests in Miami and catching up with family.

“There are chal-lenges when you travel a lot. You sleep late, you wake up

late, catch the flight, make sure you are home at your son’s school or for your wife’s anniversary,” he said. “I’ve done this for the last 10 years and actively for the last four. I have to thank my family who did not see me at home for many days.”

As Ex-Officio, Patel plans to take on a more limited role and support new Chairman Alkesh Patel.

“It will be Alkesh’s time to shine. Alkesh is a very close friend and I will do anything to help him succeed. He has been vital in my success,” he said. “I want the Board, just as they followed me, to follow Alkesh and help him succeed.”

After a couple of years, Patel hopes to run for political office, though which position remains to be seen. At the end of the day, Patel believes his accomplishments and how he carried himself as Chairman will be remembered positively.

“AAHOA is a passion. I do it with passion. I do it because I know I’m doing something for our members. If my actions are right, my actions will take care of my reputation. That’s how I have acted as a leader and public figure,” he said.

Patel on Capitol Hill, September 2011

Hemant Patel with his good friend and incoming Chairman Alkesh Patel