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Keeping it real has always been a hallmark of the annual Asian American Hotel Owners Association Meetings (AAHOA). The most upfront and straight forward of any of the conferences held in the lodging industry, this group isn’t afraid of conflict if it results in the betterment of its members.
And sometimes that means dishing out some tough love. In an attempt to shake up some of its membership base from accepting the stats quo, outgoing Chairman Mukesh Mowji challenged those AAHOA members he felt were not stepping up to take progressive action.
“AAHOA is at a crossroads,” said Mowji, adding that the organization is split in two ideologically. “We have one AAHOA that is tied with chains of the past. The other wants to break those chains. One is represented by those people that won’t allow the thoughts to move forward to allow those that want to break the chains to move forward.”
Mowji said that if those members are willing to break the chains then the organization will be able to achieve successes never imagined in its early days. Already the organization’s membership base owns more than one million rooms (13,500 franchised hotels and 8,500 independent) and about 37 percent of all hotels in the United States.
And sticking to the unshackling the chains mantra, Mowji took the unprecedented step in issuing an annual report which includes the goals and accomplishments of the sitting board, as well as the financial state of the organization. He said it will be issued by every subsequent board in the future. “It will hold the board responsible,” said Mowji.
Fred Schwartz, AAHOA’s President took a moment during his presentation to the conference attendees to reflect on his 10 years running the association. He said the organization has gone through an expansive transformation and promised to help push through the organization’s agenda in the future. “I have watched with great pride as AAHOA has become more influential and respected. We have the ability to bring about positive change.
“With absolute certainty we will continue to astound the hotel industry and ourselves with success born from dedication, commitment, unity and passion for success,” continued Schwartz. “We should be proud of where we are, but more excited about where we can take AAHOA in the coming year.”
Schwartz was greeted with a round of cheers by an enthusiastic crowd when he called for a healthy franchise system for all.
The following day, the entire AAHOA board put themselves on the line to be scrutinized by the conference attendees during a unique “Open Forum” session. Here a half hour was dedicated to allowing any AAHOA member to ask the Board anything they wanted.
Here, the sometimes contentious relationship between franchisors and they’re hotel owner customers was explored. At issue was the idea that some franchising companies are requiring hotels to buy specific products from specific vendors. According to popular opinion held by AAHOA members this undercuts the individual owner’s ability to negotiate the best price on an item that meets brand standards.
In response to questions on this topic, Mowji responded by calling for a letter writing campaign. The campaign would have members send to the major brands via AAHOA their dissatisfaction with the franchising companies making demands on where products can be purchased from. He said language would be placed on the AAHOA website to assist letter writers in crafting their notes and all letters should be sent to headquarters by the end of April.
“We will stand our ground on this issue,” said Mowji.
Also coming under the scrutiny of certain AAHOA members was certain hotel franchising organizations offering customers 100 percent satisfaction guarantees, which some customers take advantage of to get free rooms.
Schwartz said these are the types of issues AAHOA is working on with the franchising companies and they will continue to meet with these companies behind closed doors to reach amenable solutions for both parties.
He also said: “We have the opportunity to assert more influence through our 8,000 members. But we need to have members on Franchise Advisory Committees and speak in unison that way.”
Mowji also chastised the AAHOA conference attendees for not being more politically involved on these councils. He said the more AAHOA members that participate with these groups, the more overall influence the Asian American community will have.
Former Chairman Buggsi took a chance to voice his opinion as well. “We are outnumbered and under represented on Franchise Advisory Committees. My plea is to make sure you all step up, get involved and get elected,” he said.
The Board also announced that in 2007 they will hold meetings at select brand conferences with the goal of uniting the AAHOA base at the brand level.
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