Monthly Coffee Meeting

Connect with other operators each month at the IHLA’s Central Iowa member coffee meeting. Each month has a featured presenter as well as association updates and plenty of discussion and networking time. Questions? Contact Faith Dorn.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

9:00 am to 10:30 AM

Hilton Garden Inn | Johnston, Iowa

Featured Speaker:

Shawn Miner, SFM Insurance

Thank you to the sponsor of our May meeting:

Teladoc for All Employees & Their Families for $9 per Month, Per Household

The Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association is excited to announce a new member exclusive benefit. IHLA members can now provide telemedicine services including expert general medical services, mental health, dermatology, expert medical services and nutrition for $9 per month, per employee. Full and part-time employees are eligible for unlimited visits with $0 copays through this service.  What’s more, the $9 per month includes coverage for all members of the employee’s household including children, spouses and domestic partners. While this is not a replacement for group health insurance, it is a cost-effective way to provide high quality healthcare services to your employees. Available in Spanish and English. 

IHLA Pushes Bill to Exempt Sales Tax on Room Supplies

This legislative session, the IHLA worked with State Senator Carrie Koelker and State Representative Craig Johnson to introduce legislative language which exempts certain categories of expenses from sales tax if the item is required to produce the in-room service. If passed, this bill will put Iowa back where it was before sales tax changes were made in the early 90’s. With the many high-profile priorities being pushed through the legislature this year, this hotel-specific bill’s drafting came relatively late in the session. That being said, it still passed out of subcommittees in both chambers. This week a Fiscal note was finally released on both bills as well.  

The IHLA leaders will use the summer to communicate with legislators on the benefits of this action to hoteliers across the state versus the impact this $6+million dollars will have on state and local school budgets. We’ll be reviewing the fiscal note for accuracy and have interim work to line up additional support, answer questions, and prepare for movement on the bill next session.

Become a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA)

General managers and hospitality executives provide leadership to every level of a hospitality operation. They establish the vision and lead their staff in executing it. Their dedication to the hospitality industry is evident in the way they seek out continuing education, manage their employees, and ensure the financial success of the property. The Certified Hotel Administrator is a prestigious certification that recognizes these leadership and managerial skills. ​

Program features include:

• Review material on the go. You can download program content to your computer, mobile device or tablet for offline reading.
• Content organized by topic in a modular format that makes it easy to review material in any order
• A practice quiz with each module that can be taken as many times as needed

Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association State Awards Luncheon

Monday, October 2, 2023

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Rewind Hotel | West Des Moines, Iowa

Watch Your Emails for Ticket Information

IHLA Looks to Expand Board of Directors &

Welcomes Kalpesh Patel of VKB Management

Kalpesh Patel, Principal at VKB Management, a family owned and operated hospitality company with seventeen owned hotels located across the state, has joined the Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association’s Board of Directors. Patel grew up in the hotel industry working side-by-side with his father who started the business with a single hotel in 1977. Patel assumed full-time management of the growing company in 2009 and further modernized and grew the management company. Today, his primary focus is on the operation, development, and construction of new mid-scale hotels.

Patel is the sixth member of the IHLA serving alongside Paul Rottenberg of Orchestrate Hospitality in Des Moines, Ravi Patel of Hawkeye Hotels in Coralville, Angela Harrington of Hotel Grinnell in Grinnell, Scott Math of Heart of America Group in Des Moines and Ben Kinseth of Kinseth Hospitality Cos. in Coralville.

Interested in Serving on the Board?

The Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association is a member-driven professional association of state’s hotel and lodging industry. The Association is governed by an elected, volunteer Board with representatives from each of the various segments within the industry and from across the state. The IHLA Board of Directors serves as the Association’s policy-making body and meets quarterly with committee and team meetings throughout the year as necessary. If you know someone who would make an excellent representative of the industry on the Association’s Board, or if you’re interested in serving, please contact Jessica Dunker at jessica@hotellodgingiowa.com . You may nominate yourself for consideration.

Welcome New Allied Member & Bronze Sponsor

West Bank

West Bank is a community bank that offers banking and trust services to consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses. The bank is known for its strong relationships and responsiveness to local needs. West Bank prioritizes community involvement and offers tailored solutions to help customers achieve their financial goals.

State of the Industry Report Available

The New American Hotel & Lodging Association State of the Industry Report is now available on the IHLA website. It gives tremendous insights into national lodging trends.