Political Connections + On-Site Testing + Sustainability Reporting + Construction-Defect Claims + Insurance Coverages

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust President, CEO and Chairman Jon Bortz said hotel owners are speaking with a unified voice more today than ever before in the industry's history, and during the spring conference of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association, he stressed the need for owners and asset managers to develop relationships with politicians to advocate for their needs.

He said this is especially important at the local level, as various larger cities are adopting rules favored by hotel industry labor unions.

"Politically, we are under attack locally and on a state level," said Bortz, who also leads AHLA's Hotel PAC. "The legislative issues are larger at the local level."

Insurance companies that provide coverage for such operations, she explains, do it with the expectation that hotels in particular will be open and operating. Carriers were therefore understandably rattled when, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, their clients faced reduced revenues and even closures. In some cases, structures were repurposed—sometimes changing the basis of their coverage—to meet new market needs, such as housing for those who are homeless, students, and first responders. Facing this unknown, she says, also disrupted how carriers managed their hospitality business, and some stopped insuring hotels entirely.