Connecticut Lodging Association
08/09/2022
Save the Date! CLA's 118th Annual Meeting - Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 3:00 PM
U.S. Hotels State of the Union | U.S. Hotel Update 08.05.22
Here's are our recent observations on the current State of the Union from CBRE Hotels, plus our full download link at the bottom.

  • Despite formidable headwinds, fundamentals in the hotel market continue to improve. June 2022 RevPAR is up 22.7% year-over-year and up 6.9% from 2019. For the fourth month in a row, RevPAR is exceeding 2019 levels. Urban and northern markets are recovering, business and group travel are recovering, and leisure markets continue to lead the way.

  • By location type, resort hotels continue to exhibit the greatest percentage increase in RevPAR for the month of June 2022 as compared to June 2019 (115% index) and with increasing levels of business travel and group travel, urban hotels have nearly recovered to prior June 2019 levels, posting a 97% index, the highest level since the start of the pandemic.

  • Performance in notable markets: June 2022 RevPAR in the Miami market is 122% of 2019 levels, largely driven by international and domestic leisure travel. Los Angeles is at 94% of 2019 levels and New York is at 99% of 2019 levels. San Francisco is at 88% of 2019 levels, largely due to travel restrictions from Asian countries. These travel restrictions are beginning to ease and markets dependent on internal travel from these countries are expected to improving in the coming months.
Governor Lamont Announces Distribution of $30 Million in Grants To Support Hospitality Businesses Negatively Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Hotel ARPA Funding Press Conference
Governor Ned Lamont today announced that beginning this week, the State of Connecticut will deliver $30 million in grants to more than 1,700 of the state’s hospitality sector businesses that suffered financial losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses in this sector can anticipate receiving checks from the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) that range in amounts from $7,500 to $49,999. The hospitality sector encompasses restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, breweries, wineries, travel services, transportation services, and other businesses.

Funding for the grants, which is known as the Connecticut Hospitality Industry Support Program and is being overseen by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), was approved as part of the state budget bill that Governor Lamont recently signed into law and is supported by money the state received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
Recruiting New Members for the CLA Board
We are currently recruiting new members for the Connecticut Lodging Association Board of Directors. As we recover from the pandemic, it is more important than ever to have broad representation of all sectors of the lodging industry. CLA is the collective voice of hotels/motels/inns/B&Bs in Connecticut and our association will actively advocate on behalf of the industry's needs.

Please find attached the Recruitment form and Board of Directors job description. 
Thank you in advance for your consideration!

If you are interested in serving on the board of directors, please contact us at info@ctlodging.org. We look forward to hearing from you.
Reconciliation Finally Passes Senate
The long-awaited reconciliation legislative package – revised and renamed by the Democratic Majority as the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022” – passed the Senate this afternoon in a party-line vote of 51-50 with Vice President Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives where it is expected to pass with only Democratic votes. After weeks of negotiations between Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and, more recently, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), an agreement was reached to move the massive $739 Billion package. Revenues will go toward initiatives designed to combat climate change, curb pharmaceutical prices, and reduce the deficit. The vote comes after more than a year of internal debate amongst Senate Democrats, who have now passed a significantly scaled back version of the “Build Back Better” bill that at one point was projected to cost over $3 trillion.

The Inflation Reduction Act includes the following tax increases and revenue provisions:
  • A 15% minimum tax on the book income of corporations with profits exceeding $1 billion (estimated to raise ~ $300 billion)
  • A 1% excise tax on stock buybacks for publicly traded companies (estimated to raise more than $70 billion). 
  • Prescription drug pricing reforms, which will allow the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower prices for prescription drugs, among other reforms (estimated to raise between $200 - $300 billion)
  • IRS receives $80 billion to enhance tax enforcement (estimated to raise $124 billion)
  • A two-year extension (through 2027) of Excess Business Loss rules for pass-through entities (estimated to raise ~ $50 billion)

The bill will invest a total of $433 billion:
  • $369 billion for energy and climate related programs
  • $64 billion for extending an expanded Affordable Care Act subsidy program through 2025

AHLA is pleased to see the inclusion of the Energy Efficiency Commercial Buildings Deduction Credit (179D), which provides tax deductions for certain on-property energy efficiency improvements, including eligible improvements for interior lighting, building envelope, heating, cooling, ventilation, or hot water systems, and The Electric Vehicles Tax Credit (30D), which provides tax credits for electric vehicles with a certain percentage of minerals mined or processed in nations with U.S. free trade agreements, or recycled in North America. With many hotel owners already taking actions to make their hotels more sustainable and to reduce their impact on the environment, AHLA supports government action to help accelerate those efforts.

The original Build Back Better bill and negotiations included a number of harmful revenue raising provisions that AHLA strongly opposed, including:
  • Limits to or removal of tax deferrals for Section 1031 Like-Kind Exchanges
  • Increases to the capital gains rate
  • Elimination or reduction of the pass-through income deduction
  • Significant increases to the corporate rate

At a time when many businesses are still recovering from the severe financial hardship brought on during the pandemic, particularly hotels, those potential changes would have substantially hurt the progress made to rebuild the lodging industry and overall economy. AHLA advocated for the exclusion of these provisions, and we are pleased they were not included in the final Senate legislation.
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