CCCBI Attends Brandywine Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association Legislative Roundtable
Each November, the PA Restaurant & Lodging Association (prla.org) Brandywine Chapter hosts the Delaware County & Chester County Legislators at a roundtable held locally. The main goal is to discuss legislative issues & problems the hospitality industry is facing.
This year, the following legislators (or staff) were in attendance:
Representative Danielle Friel-Otten
Representative Christina Sappey
Representative-elect Lisa Borowski
Representative-elect Paul Friel
Representative Jen O’Mara
Representative Melissa Shusterman
Representative Dan Williams
Representative Leanne Krueger
Senator Carolyn Comitta
Senator John Kane
In the audience this year, were several Chambers of Commerce, Delco & Chesco Health Department Directors, several Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), Delaware County Community College, tourism agencies Chester County’s Brandywine Valley and VisitDelco, along with hoteliers & restaurateurs. The diversity of the group allowed for a great discussion about employment challenges from different industry perspectives.
The top three issues are:
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Finding Employees – facilities cannot find the staff to work or show up to work, if hired.
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Costs – cost of goods (supplies, utilities, labor, banking, etc) is continually increasing, forcing pressure on margins & price increases. This in turn reduces customer spend (reduced revenue).
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Food & Related Supply Chain Issues – shortages of food items and goods are driving costs up or causing shopping at the local supermarket. Supermarkets use their purchase volume to starve the industry’s supply.
Of special note was Delaware County Community College. As many restaurants and hospitality groups are all looking for good employees, the College is investigating certificate programs to get new employees into industry job faster without completing a 2- or 4-year degree program. This is also a great way for employers to upskill current employees.
On the legislative front, discussion focused on two topics: Tourism Improvement Districts (TIDs) legislation and Association Health Care Plans (to drive health care costs down).
Lastly, the Brandywine Chapter has been promoting Naloxone Community Training to fight the problem of Fentanyl. Community involvement is critical to helping spread this training. Please reach out to PLRA for more information.
CCCBI looks forward to continuing the discussion around these important issues, working with our community partners to address them, and advocating on behalf of our members for solutions.
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