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Alaska Hotel & Lodging Association
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AkH&LA Staff
Gretchen Kenney
Executive Director
Kendra Hamilton
Administrative Assistant
Mailing Address
330 E. 4th Avenue, Suite 201
Anchorage, AK 99501
Contact Information:
Tel: (907) 272-1229
Fax: (907) 272-1289
www.akhla.org
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AkH&LA Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Immediate Past Chairman
Yvette Hebard/Fairbanks Princess Lodge
Chair
Craig Pester/ARAMARK
Vice Chair
Barbara Swenson, CHA/Clarion Suites, Rodeway Inn/Voyager Hotel, Quality Suites Near Convention Center
Secretary
Terry Wanzer/Best Western Landing
Treasurer
Steve Zadra/Princess Tours
PAC Chair
Tammy Griffin/The Hotel Group
At-Large
Terry Latham/Longhouse Alaskan Hotel
Regional Board Members
John Ewing/Crowne Plaza
Sharlene Berg/CIRI Tourism
Nick Hammond/Seward Windsong
Jack Johnson/Best Western Kodiak
Bill Rodasky/Arctic Caribou Inn
Dustin Adams/Regency Fairbanks
Jamie Fullenkamp/Sheraton Anchorage
Dave Arnott/McKinley Princess
Jill Pawson/The Hotel Alyeska
Ron Hewitt/Breeze Inn Seward
Steve Hamilton/Baranof Hotel
Gerd Krause/Westmark Anchorage
Allied Board Members
Walt Leffek/Hospitality Resources & Concepts
Dick Wells/Automated Laundry Systems & Supply
Clayton Halverson/Halverson Commercial Real Estate
Past Chairs
Dennis Lavey/Days Inn Anchorage
Jeff Butcher/Hotel Halsingland
Darren Nolan/Princess Alaska Lodges
Randy Comer/Parkwood Inn |
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Industry News | | New Proposals Make it Easier for Unions to Organize
Proposals by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) aim to eliminate employees' rights to information and silence employers.
After Congress rejected card check and the so-called Employee Free Choice Act, organized labor is aggressively working to end-run Congress and secure card check through unelected regulatory agencies.
Both DOL and the NLRB issued proposals that would impose a gag rule on employers and prevent employees from obtaining information during union organizing campaigns. These policies are a severe threat to free speech and job creation.
DOL's new disclosure rules, referred to as the 'persuader' regulation, seeks to impose a gag rule on employers by eliminating the long-held advice exemption to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. The advice exemption allows law firms or consultants the ability to provide guidance and materials to employers, without having to disclose the identity of their clients and fees paid for advice. Because the new rules would require consultants to report all clients and fees if any labor relations advice is provided, very few law firms would engage in 'persuader' activities. Employers would be severely limited in access to counsel and hamstrung in their ability to communicate with employees or train supervisors without violating the law.
The NLRB has proposed a rule create ambush elections by mandating that elections for unionization would occur between 7 and 14 days after a union demanded one. The proposed rule would force employers to clarify/litigate the terms of elections after the actual vote. In addition, employers would have an incredibly short period to provide information to their employees about unionization (which is further restricted by the DOL rule noted above).
To see the NLRB's full proposal, click here.
These new rules have the goal of silencing employers and depriving employees of time and information to properly consider their workplace. AHLA is working through our Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) to push back vigorously on both of these proposed regulations. CDW has retained the law firm of Morgan, Lewis to represent at the July 18 hearing on "ambush elections" and the law firm of Ogeltree, Deakins to represent us on the "persuader" regulation. In addition, we are pursuing an aggressive legislative strategy to push back on these one-sided regulations.
For more information on these new proposals, click here.
For more information on the pending NLRB cases with broad policy implications, click here. |
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From the Front Desk | |
Alaska Hotel and Lodging Association is now on Facebook!
We are up to 56 likes! Make sure you like our Facebook Page and join in the conversation with other members just like you. We will also share your posts that can be beneficial to others in the hospitality industry.
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Government Relations | |
IRS Increases Mileage Rate to 55.5 Cents per Mile
The Internal Revenue Service announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2011. Taxpayers may use the optional standard rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and other purposes.
The rate will increase to 55.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2011. This is an increase of 4.5 cents from the 51 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2011, as set forth in Revenue Procedure 2010-51.
In recognition of recent gasoline price increases, the IRS made this special adjustment for the final months of 2011. The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall for the next calendar year.
"This year's increased gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans. The IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the recent increase in gas prices," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "We are taking this step so the reimbursement rate will be fair to taxpayers."
While gasoline is a significant factor in the mileage figure, other items enter into the calculation of mileage rates, such as depreciation and insurance and other fixed and variable costs.
The optional business standard mileage rate is used to compute the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business use in lieu of tracking actual costs. This rate is also used as a benchmark by the federal government and many businesses to reimburse their employees for mileage.
The new six-month rate for computing deductible medical or moving expenses will also increase by 4.5 cents to 23.5 cents a mile, up from 19 cents for the first six months of 2011. The rate for providing services for charitable organizations is set by statute, not the IRS, and remains at 14 cents a mile.
The new rates are contained in Announcement 2011-40 on the optional standard mileage rates.
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.
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Education | |
Lodging SafteyWorks DVD from AHEI
Risk management and minimizing liability are top priorities for any lodging property, and this video and companion guide provide a full overview for both employees and supervisors on all the major safety issues, including: motion safety, fire prevention, chemical care, bloodborne pathogens, and machine safety.
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Green Resources | |
New Green Guideline Just Released: Implement a Mattress Recycling Program
Recycling is becoming an increasingly important issue for consumers, as well as industry and government policy makers. Each year, a typical hotel recycles over one million pounds of standard recyclables, including corrugated cardboard, glass, metal, and plastics, as well as hazardous materials such as florescent bulbs, batteries, and lighting ballasts.
Mattress Disposal
In the past, mattresses and box springs were simply discarded at local landfills. More and more, landfills are refusing these items or charging a tipping fee for their disposal. While a tipping fee is usually based on the weight of the item being dumped and not its volume, consider the number of mattresses and box springs being discarded - that can make the tipping fee quickly become a large number.
Mattress Recycling
Local and national mattress recycling programs are available to hoteliers. Recycling mattresses and box springs have proven less costly than paying a tipping fee to the local landfill.
Besides the cost savings, recycling mattresses and box springs can have a measurable and positive impact on the environment. According to Nationwide Mattress Recycling, close to 4.5 million mattresses and box springs, or 250 million pounds of mattresses, are destined to the landfill each year. Once mattresses and box springs are buried in a landfill, they do not easily disintegrate.
Resources
Before your hotel changes out guest room mattresses and box springs, check out these recycling programs:
www.sleepproducts.org lists 23 organizations in the U.S and Canada that recycle mattresses.
www.nationwidemattressrecycling.com provides pick-up service throughout the U. S.
www.ninelivesmattressrecycling.com is the only mattress recycling company in the southeastern U. S.
www.1800gotjunk.com offers full-service removal for mattresses and box springs throughout the U.S.
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Information Center | |
One of the benefits to membership is access to the information center of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. If you have a question about the industry, Tamika is a great resource to research the topic for you and find websites, articles and details on what you need. Typically she is able to respond in just 48 hours.
For more details, visit AH&LA's Website.
For questions, please contact AH&LA Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs Kevin Maher at kmaher@ahla.com or (202) 289-3147.
Looking for more? The AH&LA Information Center has a variety of articles and resources covering every area of a lodging property. Contact Tamika Figgs, research manager, at (888) 743-2515 or tfiggs@ahla.com to have resources sent to you or your members.
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AkHLA Classifieds | | From time to time we're contacted by members looking for certain items for their properties, ways to get rid of certain reusable items during remodels, need for employees, etc. This classified section will be included in every newsletter issue to help members get this type of information out to the industry. If you have a need or want us to get the word out on something send them to Kendra Hamilton in the AkH&LA office at kendra@akhla.org |
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In order to reduce the amount of paper used at the association and to provide information to our memebers in a more timely manner, the organization has opted to send our communications via an electronic format. If you would like anyone from your staff to receive these communications please send us their email address as well as their contact information and we'll get them added to our system. This is a great way to keep your entire staff up to date on whats happening at the association and within the industry. Email addresses can be sent to the AkH&LA office at info@akhla.org. |
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