The following is a statement from Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO, on the House passage of the CARES Act.

Knowland, a leader in group hospitality analytics for hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, conference centers and other meeting venues, announced the results of a live survey of more than 700 hoteliers conducted during its informative webinar “COVID-19 Preparing Today for Success Tomorrow.”

Shift4 Payments, a leader in integrated payment processing solutions, has announced the launch of Shift4Cares.com, a round-the-clock online resource for government agencies, news outlets and businesses affected by COVID-19. The website offers a wealth of valuable information on the economic impact of this pandemic and is part of Shift4’s initiative to raise over $200 million for restaurants and other small businesses — including up to $10 million contributed directly from the company.

The following is a statement from Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO, on the Senate passage of the CARES Act.

Aptech Computer Systems celebrates 50 years of hospitality technology leadership in 2020. “We create solutions to increase our customers’ performance and profitability. We are who we are because of the clients we have,” said Jill Wilder, Aptech vice president. It is with great pride that Aptech’s back office, budgeting/forecasting, and business intelligence hotel accounting software solutions are industry standards used by hundreds of hotel companies to run their businesses.

In an effort to support communities across the country during this unprecedented public health crisis, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) today announced a new initiative – Hotels for Hope – to connect hotel properties with the health community, struggling to find housing and support as the COVID-19 public health crisis grows.

 The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is providing resources to help hotel and travel industry professionals stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on hospitality and tourism industry sales, marketing, and revenue optimization, and put crisis management techniques into play through its Global Coronavirus Resources webpage.

Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, today announced that Hotel One Sixty-Six has selected its rGuest Stay PMS solution to help streamline operations and deliver an improved guest experience, as well as rGuest Pay to ensure the efficient processing and security of guest payment information.

The hotel industry is facing an abrupt and unprecedented drop in hotel demand that is gaining pace and getting progressively deeper and more severe week by week. AHLA and top hotel CEOs met with President Trump and congress this week to seek urgent assistance to keep hotels from shuttering, protect millions of employees from losing jobs.

We applaud Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for their leadership during this unprecedented public health crisis and heartened by the progress the Senate is making on the CARES Act.

Hotel Effectiveness, a leading innovator in labor management software, announces the official launch of its new mobile apps and latest updates to MyHotelTeam. It’s no secret that Covid-19 has greatly impacted the hospitality and hotel industry. Now, more than ever, hotel operators need tools and ways in which to communicate with their staff quickly and effectively in times of confusion. The new mobile apps (available in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store) do just that.

Due to worldwide uncertainty surrounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, HSMAI ROC Americas 2020 has been rescheduled for October 26-27 in San Antonio. The main ROC program will be Monday, October 26, at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio. Tuesday, October 27, will feature the HSMAI Chief Revenue Officer Executive Roundtable programs, CRME and CHDM review courses, and Partner Insights sessions.

In light of the worldwide uncertainty stemming from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the North American Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) has been rescheduled to October 26-29, 2020. In addition, the co-located HSMAI ROC Americas will take place October 26-27. Produced by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), the 48-year hospitality technology event is traditionally held annually in June.

ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions has announced the implementation of custom-designed VingCard Essence door locks alongside VingCard Signature RFID locks at the Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston.  A newly opened and modern 61-story skyscraper that serves as both a hotel and residential building, Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston, sought out the combined expertise of both ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions and ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Americas to implement a customized state-of-the-art security access system that could also match the building's exterior design and sleek style.

Leading hotel CEOs met today with the White House to discuss urgent economic recovery solutions needed to protect millions of U.S. hotel employees and 33,000 small businesses as travel grinds to a virtual halt across the country.  From Main Street to major cities across the country, hotels everywhere are on the verge of shutting their doors in the coming days – many by the end of this week. With 1 in 25 jobs directly supported by the hotel industry, the rapid pace of booking cancellations is having an immediate, negative ripple effect that risks seeing mom and pop hotel owners shutter, furlough their employees, hurting community businesses.  

Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, announced that Vasa Park Resort in Bellevue, Washington has selected Agilysys’ rGuest Stay Property Management System (PMS), rGuest Book reservations and rGuest Pay payment processing to help streamline daily operations, improve the guest journey and increase efficiency from booking to check-out.

On Tuesday March 17, at 3:45 PM ET the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s (AHLA) President and CEO, Chip Rogers along with U.S. Travel Association’s (USTA) President and CEO, Roger Dow will join leading hotel industry CEOs to host a press conference call following a meeting with Vice President Pence and White House officials where they will discuss the industry’s response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the catastrophic economic impact on the hotel industry, its employees and U.S. economy.

Kayla Saldivar, customer success manager for VENZA was presented with a Bronze Stevie Award in the “Customer Service Manager of the Year” category in the 14th annual Stevie Awards for ales & customer service.

SHR, Sceptre Hospitality Resources, a pioneer of advanced hotel revenue generation technologies, has partnered with Serent Capital, a private equity firm with offices in Austin and San Francisco focused on investing in high-growth technology and services businesses.

The 2020 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show is being rescheduled to August 9-12. It will still be held in Orlando, Fla., at the Orange County Convention Center.

SHR, Sceptre Hospitality Resources, a pioneer of advanced hotel revenue generation technologies, has selected Sandro Christofori as its business development director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, reinforcing the company’s strong commitment to expanding its European presence.

A coalition of 150 travel-related organizations issued the following statement on the latest developments around coronavirus (signatories below):

Maestro PMS, a preferred hotel software for independent hotels, resorts, conference centers and multi-property groups announced its partner integration with Inntopia. Inntopia enables resorts to connect their lodging, skiing, golf, and other software systems into a one-stop shopping platform with automated email marketing and powerful business intelligence.

SiteMinder, a leading guest acquisition platform for the global hotel industry, has unveiled ‘Insights’, a set of smart monitoring and reporting capabilities that usher hotels into the Intelligence era—the new era of distribution. The capabilities are native to users of the channel management, direct booking and pricing intelligence features within SiteMinder’s platform, to provide hoteliers a single place to access clear and actionable data on their local market, business performance and guests.

Knowcross, a preferred service quality management platform of the finest hotels, is happy to announce that the Upstalsboom Wellness Resort Suedstrand, Wyk on Foehr, has decided to implement the KNOW Housekeeping software solution from Knowcross, in order to automate their housekeeping department and make it more streamlined.

Knowcross, a global leader in providing service quality and optimization solutions for hotels, is thrilled to share that Sofitel London Heathrow, has decided to implement the Knowcross platform to increase operational productivity and enhance the quality of guest service. This addition further reinforces the company’s position as the most preferred service quality management platform of hotels all across Europe.

IDeaS Revenue Solutions, a leading provider of revenue management software and services, announced IDeaS RevPlan™, a cloud-based module built to complement its flagship RMS products. The module is designed to take the pain out of budgeting and forecasting a hotel’s total business, including food and beverage outlets.

The following is a statement from Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO, on an emergency supplemental appropriations package to address the threat of COVID-19.

Beachy, a leading developer of hospitality solutions for resorts and resort service providers, announced that Resort Collection has selected the Beachy Online Booking Engine, Beachy Attendant App, Beachy Food & Beverage App and Beachy Management Suite to enhance guest service at Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort in Panama City Beach, Fla.

Tripleseat, a leading web-based sales and event management technology solutions for restaurants, hotels and unique venues, announced an acquisition by Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses.