Dear WH&LA Lodging Member:
There are just a few updates we want to share that should be of interest before today gets away from us:
New Safe Stay Standards
The AH&LA is releasing their new
“Safe Stay” Enhanced Industry-Wide Hotel Cleaning Standards
, created by AH&LA with input from most hotel brands, to help provide a unified proactive approach as state governments are either asking for industry input (like in Wisconsin) or considering implementing state mandates sometimes created by agencies not familiar with lodging operations and standards. This will formally be released to the media on Monday, so
today it is available to members only
. After brief review, the components heavily defer to CDC guidelines, however some of the specific points, such as discontinuing cleaning rooms during a guest’s stay and more, are very similar to the Recommendations that WH&LA created and provided to the proposed Back to Business Plan and to state agencies seeking our input. Reviewing this 8-page document as you evaluate practices to follow as the tourism industry begins planning for re-activating the economy would be helpful, with different types of properties each finding components that could work well for you.
Testimony Before the State Assembly State Affairs Committee Yesterday
The WH&LA was invited as one of 6 industry groups to speak at an Informational Hearing (speakers by invitation only) yesterday via Skype. The general topic was the Back to Business Plan created by Wisconsin Manufactures & Commerce (WMC), but groups were also asked to provide an update on the status of their industry. WH&LA 2020 Chairman of the Board Greg Stillman addressed the Committee in addition to myself (Trisha Pugal) to
cover b
oth aspects of the testimony. The WH&LA, like each of the other organizations, spoke in favor of the Back to Business Plan, noting how it brings in the healthcare status in a region as well as the type of business and more, to keep it current on a weekly basis and it provides industry recommendations based on the ranking of transmission risk provided for each business. After speaking further with Secretary-Designee Sara Meaney this morning, it appears that the state WEDC is continuing to take the lead for the Administration and while they may tap some elements of this plan, they would likely customize it with other state agencies input. The question is how the Back to Business Plan, which would like businesses to start phasing back before the May 26 date, but with more stringent practices to start, can blend with the Governor’s Bounce Back Plan which would likely continue with very targeted expansions (like recreational equipment rentals and dog grooming) but likely not see significant business movement until May 26 at the earliest. The goal expressed at the hearing was to find a way, with bi-partisan support, to plan for getting to the new normal. Here is
WH&LA’s written testimony
.
Room Tax Reports Now Live!
Effective today, all municipalities with a local room tax should have posted their 2019 annual report on room tax revenue generated, how it was allocated and spent, what tourism entity or tourism commission is overseeing expenditures and who is on their board or commission, and more. We would highly recommend that you visit (and bookmark!) the following link so that you can see for yourself what has been reported for
your area for 2019 – but also for past years:
DOR Room Tax Report
. Currently 341 municipalities have filed these required reports with the DOR. If you have questions, you should find a contact person listed in the report that you can contact for more details. Just selected the year in the upper right, then enter your municipality on the “Search"bar above where the listings start. This saves you from scrolling through them all alphabetically. Once you have your municipality’s line pop up, Click on the bus “Co-Muni” number to see the report. If they submitted attachments (most should), you can also click on the blue word “View” in the Attachments column.
As always, thank you for your interest and support.
Stay well,
Trisha
