Greetings to you all!

Hope everyone’s year is off to a great start. Spring is here, and now that Covid is becoming a norm, President Biden is planning to lift all Covid bans by mid-May. Hopefully we will see a surge in international travelers arriving into our country. We are also hopeful that the virtual, work from home routine is ending soon, and we will see our corporate business travelers again.

On the same token, the challenges we face are still very much present, with employee shortages, rising interest rates, supply chain shortages, and last but not least, inflation slowly creeping up. Furthermore, it has been quite difficult to train and retain existing employees longterm. Our industry has always remained resilient and will continue providing the best services at our hotels as we prepare for our busy season. 

Our 67th annual Choice convention is coming up in Las Vegas from April 25-28th. We look forward to meeting all of you at the CHOC business session on Tuesday, April 25th, and the town hall meeting on Thursday, April 27th. 

I truly appreciate the opportunity to serve our region as your director. Please reach out to me, or any of the national team members on the CHOC Board, for any questions or concerns. We also encourage you to contact your local, state, and national legislators regarding issues such as the overtime rule and joint employer independent contractor.

Darshana Patel

Director, Region 7