A wide variety of projections are being shared as to what will be in Governor Tony Evers first State Budget Proposal, which will be officially unveiled on February 28, however only a few components have been promised by the Governor himself, so other projections are not that reliable at this point. In the interim, a few stand-alone bills have been introduced in both the state Assembly and state Senate, such as the legislation to provide a middle income tax cut funded by a budget surplus, however just yesterday the Governor used his veto authority for the first time in order to include his own version of a similar tax cut in his Budget proposal next week. Most other bills (not all, however) will be in a holding pattern until the Budget starts moving through it's long process.
In the meantime, today we have an invitation for you, along with one new and one reminder resource that you may find relevant and helpful!
WH&LA Action Day April 10 at the Hilton Monica Terrace
All Lodging Members are invited to participate in our 2019 Action Day, the one day this year that lodging representatives come together to share a unified voice at the Capitol! The
Overview and Registration flyer can be printed and scanned for email or mailed OR you can go online at
https://www.tfaforms.com/4720383
.
Reasonably priced at $39 for the whole day Registrants will receive:
- The latest updates and materials from WH&LA on issues important to Wisconsin's lodging industry
- Suggestions on meeting with legislators to discuss issues
- Short informational presentations by key legislators & agency leaders
- A networking lunch with fellow lodging owners & operators
- 2-3 customized scheduled meetings with your state senators, Assembly representatives, and key staff
- Entry to a tourism reception from 4-5:30 pm with attendees at our partner tourism organization action days also that day (Restaurants, attractions, CVB's)
New Resource
Recently the WH&LA was contacted for help in resolving shortages in short and long-term lodging in the counties of Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, Waukesha, and Milwaukee as southeastern Wisconsin is experiencing rapid growth in construction and business development including and surrounding Wisconsin Valley development. We were advised on a conference call with state and regional officials that there is insufficient housing for temporary and long-term employees wishing to locate in the area, and new housing development is not keeping pace with the needs.
Following a review of all the current resources and tools, the WH&LA decided to assist in the following manner:
- A website hosted through the state agency WHEDA and other partners called WIHousingSearch.Org has geared up to accept free listings for not only standard housing, but now also to list temporary lodging to provide housing in the interim for new employees looking to move to the area and construction/development workers developing roads and facilities to accommodate the area growth. They have tweaked their format to enable lodging properties interested in individual rentals ranging from weekly to monthly to sign up for free listings (listed under "Short-termHotel/Motel/Inn") that include contact information, pictures, amenity descriptions, and links at no cost to you. We agreed to let our members in the five counties listed above know.
- As this website is hosted on a statewide basis, the website agreed to extend the free listings to any lodging property anywhere in the state. We agreed to let all of our lodging members know.
-
There is a
Benefits for Property Providers overview outlining the benefits of listing at their website to more fully explain the format and capabilities, which we thought you might find helpful.
- Notification: For those agreeing to rentals of 60 continuous days or more, please be aware of Wisconsin's Landlord Tenant Laws that kick in (see DATCP's brochure), as well as the fact that continuous rentals of over 30 days will not be subject to state & county sales tax nor local room tax.
Human Trafficking Prevention Resources
The WH&LA continues to be contacted by regional or social justice groups who have heard that the lodging industry is one of the key targets of criminals engaged in illegal human sex trafficking in Wisconsin, and they are either looking into creating their own new training tools for lodging from their perspective, or looking for a way to speak to lodging properties to ask for increased awareness. I think all of our members are already aware by now how easily this crime can and does occur behind the scenes at properties. This crime causes significant damage to it's victims and is definitely not the type of business anyone wants on their property.
We want to remind members to keep the following links handy for owner/management/staff training and increasing heightened awareness to help stop the spread of this horrible crime:
- A 15-minute Training Webinar "Human Trafficking and the Lodging Industry" designed specifically for lodging employees - available in 3 languages:
- English
- Spanish
- Hmong
- A NEW Poster you can print off and post in the back of the house for your employees, providing tips of what to look for.
- A NEW 1/3 page Tips Card you can print off and provide in a handy spot specifically for your Housekeeping Associates (with the back side in Spanish)
- A NEW 1/3 page Tips Card you can also print off and provide in a handy spot specifically for your Front Office Staff (also with the back side in Spanish)
Thanks for all of your efforts in the prevention of Human Sex Trafficking at properties of all sizes and types in Wisconsin!
