Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association Monthly Update

Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association Pushes for the End of Hotel Double Taxation

IHLA Board members and the IHLA team met with Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver and Senate President Amy Sinclair at the Capitol to discuss legislation that would help Iowa’s hotel industry.

The IHLA lobbying team worked with two hospitality champions in the legislature to get a bill drafted that would end “double taxation” on amenities in hotels and lodging establishments. Representative Craig Johnson of Independence and Senator Carrie Koelker of Dyersville sponsored companion bills in the House and Senate which would eliminate the taxes hotels are required to pay in order to prepare a hotel room with the required guest amenities including paper products, shampoos, clean linens, utilities, etc.

Members of the IHLA Board of Directors spoke in favor of the Senate version at a subcommittee meeting the first week of March. The bipartisan subcommittee passed the bill unanimously with the suggestion some amendments be made. Special thanks to Senator Koelker, as well as Senator Chris Cournoyer of LeClaire and Senator Bill Dotzler of Waterloo.

The House subcommittee also voted unanimously to pass the bill on to full Committee for consideration. Thank you to Rep. Craig Johnson, Rep. Anne Osmundson, and Rep. Charles Isenhart for supporting the bill.

The bill is now under review by the Iowa Department of Revenue, which is creating a fiscal note which will outline the impact on state revenues. Once that is complete, the bill will be considered by the full House and Senate Committees. In short, we’ve only just begun.

While Eric Goranson, the IHLA lobbyist and Jessica Dunker, the IHLA President and CEO, will continue to work diligently to move the bill forward, it may be a multi session venture to get through both Chambers and to the Governor’s desk. Track the bills as they progress and if you have an opportunity to speak to your legislator, let him or her know how important this bill is to the recovery of Iowa’s hotel industry.

Find Your Legislator

HF 544

SF 394

IHLA Hires Director

In February, Faith Dorn joined the Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association team as its new Director. Faith was most recently a senior account executive for a large local agency, where she created programs for hotel groups. In her new role, Faith will focus on member relations and growth, as well as the development of benefit programs beyond legislative advocacy to help the Iowa lodging industry recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Note from New Director Faith Dorn

I am honored and excited to begin my work on behalf of Iowa’s hotel and lodging operators. Before joining the association as Director I worked with many of the hoteliers in Iowa on their insurance coverage. I have witnessed their struggles and pain during the pandemic. Occupancy rates declined substantially, however, their expenses and cost of operation did not decrease. There was no relief for hoteliers in any of the federal or state programs that were implemented for other industries, and now we are playing catch up. Debt load has never been higher and studies project it will take a decade to find our way back from COVID-related losses.

I am passionate about helping the hoteliers rebound from this and have already gone to work to create meaningful member benefit programs which will launch in the coming months. Contracts are already underway to create:

A workers compensation dividend plan which would provide two dividend opportunities – individual, as well as a group dividend for Association members.
A comprehensive Healthy Hospitality program with an array of low cost and no cost benefits for hotel employees including a Teladoc service which costs $9 per month per employee. That $9 also includes their family members.

I am also in conversations with several credit card processing system providers to see if we can create a lower cost per transaction arrangement exclusively for IHLA members, as well as with an energy savings company that can provide natural gas savings.

I can’t wait to begin meeting more of our members and working with you directly. Please feel free to reach out directly to me with any questions a fdorn@hotellodgingiowa.com.

Faith Dorn, CIC

Director-Iowa Hotel and Lodging Association and

Insurance Risk Consultant

Office: 515-276-1454

Cell: 515-210-6480

Association Has Big First Year

The Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association formed in January 2022. In its first year, 100 hotel properties, or about 10% of Iowa’s lodging establishments, joined the association. In addition, the lodging group helped expand the number of Iowa hotels that have completed the state’s human trafficking prevention certification program. It also worked with the restaurant association to administer Meet in Iowa, a program funded through the Iowa Tourism Office to help increase overnight hotel stays across the state.

Since its roll-out last May, the Meet in Iowa program is credited with increasing a confirmed 3,500+ additional hotel room night stays across the state with thousands more expected in the coming year. The Meet in Iowa program was renewed for 2023 but with a larger focus on incenting midweek overnight business travel. See how you might leverage the program for your customers. Work with or send your business and motor coach meeting and travel customers to meetinia.com for details.

Learn More About Meet in Iowa

Mark Your Calendar!

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 E-mails for Nomination Link and Ticket Information

IHLA Looks to Expand Board of Directors

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.

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.

See Report

Welcome New Allied Members

Allied members support Iowa's hotel and lodging industry by offering the products and services operators need to do business better. Their memberships are an investment in your success! Please consider partnering with IHLA allied members.

Swartz & Associates, Inc

Swartz & Associates, Inc. (SAI) is a boutique firm specializing in the review of commercial/industrial real estate valuations as well as business personal property. SAI employees have worked with many hoteliers across the country in the review of property tax valuations, reviewing hundreds of properties over the past 35 years. To learn more about SAI, visit www.swartzaai.com.